The Dark Lord's Only Hope
by Rubato
Summary: Audrey and her family have been hiding for her entire life, hidden in plain view... Prequel to my first story, The Dark Lord's Last Hope!
1. Chapter 1

And so begins the prequel! :D

A little note to those who _haven't _read my first story (The Dark Lord's Last Hope), it's going to tie in a lot with that plot. You might want to read it before going into this one, but I want to make the stories interchangeable, so that which ever you read first it doesn't matter. So basically…roll with me, people. :P

And to those who _have _read my other story…HI! You'll find a few similarities here, the narration and some of the scenarios that were mentioned randomly throughout my first story.

The chapters will start out short, and will gradually become longer.

Review please?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 1

_**I have worn a mask my entire life, hiding from the world my origins and what I am capable of…**_

_**Who I truly am…is unknown by many and now I feel that I must come clean and show everything before it is too late…**_

_**I was born to a banshee and a man with strange abilities on an unusually cold May morning. When I was born, my parents knew what I was…the strangest combination of the two of them. I bore a strong physical resemblance to my mother, though I lacked the green pigmentation and instead had the skin of my father, as well as his light hazel eyes. **_

_**The chaos had truly began when I was merely a few weeks old, the house began to shake violently in the middle of the night and my screams had knocked out my father a few times. My mother was the only one immune to my 'cries from hell' as my father had once put it, after all, I had inherited that from her too.**_

**_I am a monster, born of monsters._**

**_When I was old enough to walk and talk, I was told instantly to hide my powers. What my father and I were, it was frowned upon by wizarding society…I knew that from an early age…but there was something else…something that further forced us to hide._**

**_My name is Audrey Fiona Dalio, and this is the truth._**


	2. Chapter 2

The third chapter's longer, I promise.

Review please?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 2

_**It wasn't easy at all to control my abilities as a child, and to channel my feelings my father had started me rather early on the cello. My mother insisted that I follow in not only my father's footsteps, but hers as well. She enrolled me in dance classes about an hour north of our home, dance classes where I could find others like me…**_

"Mummy, what if they don't like me?" A little Audrey asked.

"That's such nonsense, Audrey. You're no different from the other girls." said Airleas, walking with her daughter.

"But mum, they're all green. I'm not." Audrey replied, stating the obvious.

Airleas laughed. "Audrey, there aren't only banshees in the class, there are some veela as well. You wont be the only non-green creature."

"I'll be the only one who moves dirt." said the little girl, a bit wise beyond her two years.

"Uniqueness is never a bad thing, my dear." Airleas replied.

_**Being that the classes were taught by a banshee, our lessons were primarily what is known by wizards as Irish step dancing. The common lore was that Irish wizards and witches invented the dance during the early nineteenth century. However, the ten banshee colonies of Ireland have been step dancing for centuries.**_

_**When we weren't step dancing, we were taught modern dance and ballet. Though our teacher Darcy favored step.**_

_**Though dancing and music helped tremendously, I slipped up on numerous occasions. I once accidentally blew the ground out of our yard when I fell and broke my leg at the age of three. I blew our yard up again when my dog, Jackson passed away four years after.**_

_**I was never fully aware of what danger I could possibly be in to show my powers as a young, naïve child. I only later knew when I first attended school.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Alright, just because I felt like putting out chapter three today...I know what you may be thinking, where's Sirius? He'll be coming in a few chapters. :]

Thanks for the review, Rockinrachy! :]

Review please?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 3

_**When I wasn't at dance classes, I was with my mother in our small cottage in the woods. My father worked either at home or around, he was controlled enough to be able to go out into the wizarding world without issues. When he was home, my mother traveled to a few of the banshee colonies around the country and taught magic and dance to young banshees. They weren't allowed to go to any wizarding schools, it was preposterous but it was our society. It still is our society. My mother was one of a handful of banshees who were lucky enough to receive an education through Beauxbatons School in secret.**_

_**When my mother wasn't teaching, and when I wasn't at dance we were in hiding within our home. We were allowed to roam the woods and the fields, but never so much in public. Only when I was with my father, could I roam out in public and that was a rare privilege granted to me when I was nearly ten years old. **_

_**My father had to work in London's Saint James Park and fix the wizard groundskeeper's home, which had been destroyed by a fire. He was a wizard carpenter, he used both wood and stone in his creations. The small cottage we lived in was made entirely of the two. He had built it just with his powers alone, and made a very decent living, for most of his clients didn't know what he was. They had simply assumed he was just very gifted with his wand.**_

_**Knowing it was going to be a rather long day, my father permitted me to bring my cello and practice in the park. It was a beautiful day in April, the trees were blossoming and I decided to situate myself on one of the park benches under the shade of the trees.**_

Audrey sighed contently, tuning her cello quickly and beginning to play.

_**I don't know of time when I'm playing, I don't think any musician does. **_

_**Though when I was halfway through playing Sibelius' Themes and Variations for Cello in D Minor, I noticed two people, a man and a woman, watching me curiously.**_

_**Of course, I had passersby all day but they had actually stopped to stare at me for quite a while. They were like me and my father, I could tell easily.**_

_**They were an odd couple, but who was I to judge? My parents were not exactly the modern standard of a normal couple either, my mother was only sixteen in regular years when she married my father. Banshees grow twice as fast as humans and other creatures, yet they age incredibly slow. It was a strange thing that no one could explain.**_

_**The man had to be nearly seventy, he wore a muggle suit vest and dress pants but I could see him twirling a wand between his fingers discreetly. The woman, was no older then twenty six with a white painted face and red lips, she wore a brilliant turquoise kimono with white flowers around the hem and the sleeves, she carried a parasol to shade herself. She was stunning and had definitely grabbed the attention of the few that had been in the park that day. She also had a wand.**_

Audrey kept her eyes closed for the most part, she liked to see the music in her head as much as she could. Using her eyes was sometimes a distraction.

Across the walkway, the man was leaning against the tree and was speaking softly with his companion.

"I am pleasantly surprised, Albus-san." said the geisha.

"I don't understand how you could be, Hisoka. What were you expecting to generate such a sound, a watermelon?" the man, Albus, replied.

The geisha, Hisoka, giggled and hit him with her parasol lightly. "Albus, you know what I meant! I did not expect it to be such a young child to play so beautifully! And look at her movements, very graceful, she is a natural! _And _she is playing Sibelius' variations, do you know what that means?"

Albus' eyes twinkled and he said softly, touching her hand. "Enlighten me?"

"Albus-san, the muggles have yet to discover this work! Sibelius wrote these in the late eighteen hundreds. She is a child of wizarding parents." Hisoka's eyes lit up excitedly.

"Which means you can approach her." Albus concluded.

"And take her on as a student." The geisha replied eagerly.

"Are you sure that is wise with your 'condition'?" Albus asked in a low voice, making air quotations.

"Most wizards don't even detect it, Albus-san." Hisoka replied easily, the young musician was finishing out the variations.

The geisha lightly glided over to the young musician, her companion in tow. She stopped a few feet in front of her, waiting for her to come out of her trance.

Audrey opened her eyes and jumped slightly, startled. She hadn't been paying attention to any of the sounds around her other then the music, her father would be angry if he knew. It wasn't wise to be ignorant out in the open, it could be dangerous.

"Hello." The geisha said, her voice sounding light and musical. "I was just admiring your playing, your articulation is fabulous."

"Thank you…" Audrey said, shocked.

"I am Hisoka." The geisha bowed, introducing herself. She then gestured to her companion. "This is Albus."

Audrey gave the man behind Hisoka a tiny wave, he returned it with a smile.

She then said. "My name is Audrey."

"I hope I am not being too bold by asking this, Audrey. But who are you studying with?" She asked, curious.

"My father has taught me most things on the cello, but in the summers my grandfather and my great uncle tutor me as well." Audrey supplied, not sure how to bring up the point that she was one of them.

She couldn't read Hisoka's facial expression but could see that she was calculating something. Audrey spoke again.

"I noticed you two over there earlier." Audrey began, nodding her head towards where the two were originally. "Sir, you might want to be a little more careful with your wand. The park is deserted today, but some of these muggles are brighter then others."

Albus gave a cheerful laugh. "You are an observant one! Hisoka just mentioned to me before that she only knew you were a young witch by the variations you just played."

"The muggles _still _haven't discovered the Sibelius variations?" Audrey asked, curiously turning to the geisha.

Hisoka shook her head, a small smile forming on her painted lips.

"Audrina!" Isaac's voice called through the bushes and trees. He emerged from a maze of bushes seconds later. His shirtsleeves were rolled up and he was sweating a bit but he wore a shocked expression, then smiled.

"Albus!" He boomed, a grin on his face.

"Greetings Isaac." Albus replied, equally cheerful as he reached to shake his hand. "I did not know that this was your daughter." He gestured to Audrey. "I should have, between the cello and the hair. She looks like Airleas."

"Minus the green." Isaac whispered, laughing. He then noticed the geisha next to Albus, he wore a peculiar expression for a moment.

"Oh, forgive me, Isaac. This is my companion, Hisoka Emi." Albus chimed in.

"Hisoka Emi…world renowned cellist and geisha. I _strongly _approve, Albus." Isaac said, giving him a nudge. Albus chuckled.

Hisoka beamed, quite happy that someone had actually recognized her. She prided herself on her gift in disguising herself merely with geisha make up, it was too easy sometimes.

"I am glad you _strongly _approve, Isaac." Albus said, it seemed to be an inside joke between the two.

"It is a pleasure to be in your presence, miss." Isaac said to Hisoka. "My uncle has seen you twice before…well…" Isaac gave her a look.

"You can say it, you know. I do not mind." Hisoka replied kindly. Audrey was confused, her father noticed this.

"Audrina, Hisoka was bitten by a vampire." Isaac began.

"More like, Hisoka _is _a vampire." The geisha said, giggling, Albus joined in on the laughter.

Audrey wore an intrigued facial expression, Isaac laughed at this. "I've never met a vampire before!" She exclaimed with a whisper.

Albus crouched down to meet the girls ear. "I'll tell you a secret, they're not much different." Audrey giggled and Hisoka smiled.

"Albus." Isaac said, a slightly serious tone. "I sent you an owl yesterday-"

Albus cut him off. "Yes, Isaac. I received it. I was going to write you back this afternoon, but obviously the fates had brought us together."

Isaac nodded and said. "Airleas said she felt that something peculiar was going to happen today."

Audrey nodded, her mother had been gifted in the seeing eye. Something Audrey had inherited, though she had a harder time understanding her visions.

"Shall we?" Isaac said to Albus, motioning to the open field behind the brush of bushes. It was obviously a private matter.

"Yes." Albus replied, but just as he was in mid step. "I believe Hisoka wished to talk to you as well."

Isaac gave the two a peculiar look but agreed to it, he then looked to his daughter and spoke in banshee.

"_Wait here, practice Brahms. We will be back shortly."_

_**I never really contemplated how truly peculiar it was that my father had somehow managed to learn the Banshee language. But it was very useful.**_

_**  
>I must admit, I was quite oblivious to what they could have possibly been talking about. I didn't find out until weeks later...<strong>_


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews, rockinrachy, kankananime123, weasleytwinslover87, and reifa96lockheart! :D

Already finishing up chapter six. Sirius and the Marauders will be making their first appearance in chapter ten!

Hey…_you_…do you like tacos? REVIEW! ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 4

"I'm going to my father's house in France this summer, haven't seen him in two years. What about you guys?" said Chantal, a tall veela who was bending her step shoes slightly, trying to break them in further.

"Visiting the Dunaff colony, my mother's family from there. Is your mother teaching again this summer, Audrey?" said Teagan, a banshee.

Audrey nodded, stretching one of her legs. "She's teaching transfiguration and step this year."

"Excellent!" replied Teagan. "I hear you're mother's got some moves."

Audrey laughed. "Yeah, I've heard some stories myself…she's crazy when she tries to teach me some of the steps. It's too fast!"

"Are you going anywhere for the summer?" Chantal asked, looking at Audrey.

"Russia again. Not sure what I'm going to do afterwards though…" Audrey said nervously.

"Still no word on schooling yet?" Chantal asked. She had already received a letter from Beauxbatons a few months back.

"None…I don't think they'll accept me. They might be afraid I'll destroy the castle or something." Audrey waved a hand.

"Well was your father schooled?" asked Teagan.

"My father went to Durmstrang…" Audrey said quietly. Isaac had hated that school bitterly, she never asked why.

"The all boys school?" Teagan questioned, Chantal and Audrey nodded.

"Perhaps you'll get something over the summer? Maybe from Beauxbatons or from the Salem School in the US!" Chantal said excitedly.

Audrey shrugged. "I'm not getting my hopes up for anything, you know how they all think of us."

Teagan and Chantal nodded.

"No good, lousy, filthy." Chantal mocked a stuck up voice as she did air quotations.

"Ain't that the truth." Teagan said, slamming one of her shoes down on the wood floor trying to break it in.

_**Outside of my home and the dance studio, I was socialized with others in the summer. **__**I have always been allowed to visit my grandparents in Russia. My parents sent me to Saint Petersburg for the summer every year, and though my grandmother had taken on the name Dalio when she married my grandfather they still went under her maiden name. For it was much safer to be an Ivanoff, then it was to be a Dalio. My grandfather's family is well known for their abilities in Russia…to be one of them, to be labeled as one of them, it was frowned upon.**_

_**During those summers, I went under the alias Fiona Ivanoff.**_

_**And those summers had been some of the greatest times of my life.**_

Isaac and Airleas had always sent Audrey off to Russia during the last week of April by train. Though Isaac was never comfortable with his young daughter going on the train by herself, but Airleas insisted. To draw attention by having Isaac's parents come to get the child would be worse.

"Audrina." Isaac's thick accent reflected some worry. "You must be careful…but if anyone gives you trouble. Severe trouble, use what you can…it is not _illegal_."

"For Merlin's sake, Isaac. She knows! She's been on this train multiple times and no one bothers her." said Airleas, throwing her arms up.

"You never know, my Airleas." Isaac said, giving her a look.

"She'll be fine, love." Airleas replied, kissing her husband on the cheek.

Audrey nodded, kissed her parents goodbye and boarded the train.

_**I had never encountered trouble on the train, being that I was always sent off to St. Petersburg at the end of April. The train was never crowded in April. **__**Every year when I took the train, I always stayed with Yuri, one of the conductors. He was a great friend…and like me in some ways. Yuri was a werewolf.**_

"Greetings, _Fiona_." said a raspy voice.

Audrey turned around, to find a graying man in a conductors outfit. His features were very prominent, he had an angular jar and large, round eyes. His smirk might have been creepy to some, but Audrey knew it well.

"Yuri." Audrey replied, giving him a small curtsy as he tipped his hat.

Yuri grinned.

"You grew again!" He said.

Audrey nodded, grinning. "I'm almost as tall as my grandmother."

"You're probably taller then she is at this point." He replied jokingly as they sat down.

_**Yuri and I seldom corresponded throughout the year, we had decided we'd always catch up with each other on the train every year. This way, during the long ride we would have things to talk about.**_

The ride took several hours, but it always seemed to go by so quickly and before she knew it, Audrey was in Russia.

She hopped off the train in St. Petersburg and saw her grandmother instantly. She wasn't hard to miss, a short, tiny woman with a prominent nose, salt and pepper grey hair that was always wrapped tightly in a bun. She wore a long, navy blue dress, with a matching jacket. The first thing Audrey's eyes went to were her Nana's large pearl earrings…when didn't she wear them?

"My _Fiona_." said Anastasia, her face wrinkling even more as she grinned. "A year always feels like so much longer, my precious grand child."

"I've missed you too, Nana." Audrey wore an identical grin. "Where is Papa?"

"At the house of course, dear. Come, come." Her grandmother replied.

Audrey followed her around to a pillar, then took her grandmother's arm. They dissapparated.

As soon as Audrey could smell the flowers, she knew where she was. The had landed in the large front yard of St. Aleksander's Palace, one of several palaces within the city. The estate the Ivanoff's had owned since the 15th century.

Despite being a tiny elderly woman, Anastasia Ivanoff-Dalio could move incredibly fast. Audrey found herself working a little hard to keep up.

"Is everyone else here too?" She asked her grandmother.

"Of course, dear. Alina is here, Sophia is here, and of course Pavvel."

Alina, Sophia, and Palo were Isaac's brother's and sisters. All four of the Dalio children were a year apart, and their children were just the same. But in a different order…

Jacques, Alina's son was the oldest. Hans, Sophia's son was the second oldest. Peter, Pavvel's son was the third oldest, and Audrey was the youngest.

Whenever Audrey came for the summer, the first thing she would do is run through the large palace to find her grandfather.

As she ran through the halls, she breathed in, drinking in the place she loved most. It was beautiful, but there was far more to it beyond its aesthetics.

_**The floors were intricate wood designs, each room and each hallway were different. Whenever I ran through the palace I enjoyed staring at the floors from time to time and how they changed.**_

Audrey ran through the west wing, and down another hallway. She knew she had come in the right direction when she heard music. Astor Piazzolla's "Libertango" echoed through the hallways. She followed the wonderful sounds until she reached a study, and then she saw him.

_**My grandfather always looked so alive when he played, he almost always played with his eyes closed. He swayed slightly, constantly moving within the notes.**_

He abruptly stopped and opened his eyes.

"Audrina!" He exclaimed, putting down his cello and striding over to his grandchild. He wrapped her in his arms.

"I've missed you." He whispered into her hair.

"I've missed you too, Papa." Audrey replied, smiling.

"How is my son?" Edik asked, wrapping an arm around her as they walked down the hallway.

"He is good, still doing carpentry." Audrey replied thoughtfully.

"Such a strange profession my son has chosen." Edik mused. "But I cannot complain I suppose."

Audrey giggled.

"Let's go down and get some lunch, I'm sure you're famished." Edik said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Asia followed her grandfather down the halls, making their way to the dining area. She had already heard laughter and the table rumbling. Something which was very common among all of the Dalio family when they were together. They were all good with controlling their magic, but from time to time, when they were all together and laughing so much they lost a bit of control.

_**My aunts and uncles were just like my father, but had lesser amounts of magic. Just as their parents and uncles were before them. None of us knew why, my father seemed to absorb so much of the magic that had run through the Dalio bloodline for hundreds of years. My aunt Alina was the wind, my aunt Sophia had the ground, and my uncle Pavvel had stone. Their children, were passed the same as their parents. My father, grandfather, and I were the only ones who had everything. We had never figured out why, but we all disregarded it. We were just happy to have each other.**_

"Now it's a party." said Pavvel, a huge smile spreading on his face as he noticed his father and his niece making their way into the dining room.

Audrey's aunts, Alina and Sophia turned next.

"Audrey!" exclaimed Sophia. "When did you get here?"

"Just this morning." said her grandmother, walking in from one of the other doors.

"Excellent." said Alina. "Are we going shopping?" She asked, turning to her sister and her niece.

Audrey's aunts, both having only sons, had always been excited to see their niece.

"Girl things?" asked Jacques, Audrey's cousin, who was chomping on some bread.

"What else would they be doing?" snorted Hans.

"They're still upset you weren't born girls." Audrey joked, sitting next to Peter, the cousin closest to her in age. Hans threw a piece of bread at her and she laughed.

"Hans, don't throw your bread dear." said Anastasia, taking a seat next to Edik.

"Hans, you can throw your bread if you wish." Edik said immediately, purposely contradicting his wife. She gave him a stern look and he chuckled.

Hans quickly threw his bread at his mother, Sophia. Alina had blocked it with a light breeze, Hans pouted.

"Oh it's not like you didn't see that coming!" Alina exclaimed, Audrey and Sophia burst into laughter.

"Are we going to play some Quidditch later?" Peter asked, turning to Edik.

"Yes, if Ivan is up to it." Edik replied thoughtfully.

"Who said I wasn't?" boomed a familiar old voice.

_**My great uncle Ivan, was only elderly by appearance but was in incredible shape for a man of his age. He was twenty years older then my grandparents, and though my grandfather had inherited the strongest of our family magic, Ivan was a powerful wizard, he was well gifted in maneuvering wind. He was not a force to be reckoned with.**_

"Papa did!" piped in Jacques.

Ivan shot his younger brother a look.

"I did not!" Edik said, giving his grandson a look.

"And you're going to tell me these _pure_, _wonderful_, children are lying?" Ivan said, crossing his arms. He was being incredibly sarcastic of course, but he was always one for a good joke.

"I swear on Merlin's grave." Edik joked.

_**This was a common joke among our family, because the wizarding world claims that Merlin does not have a grave. Our family had ties with Merlin, and happen to be the very few people who know where he lies.**_

"His _non-existent _grave." Audrey piped in, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Audrina!" Ivan exclaimed. "When did you arrive here, _Moya printsessa_?"

"Princess Audrey!" Hans said in a mock regal tone. Jacques did a royal wave.

Audrey threw some bread at him and said. "Eat your _bread_, Hans."

He laughed.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey…_you_…do you like tacos? REVIEW! ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 5

Audrey sat out in the back gardens with her grandmother and her aunts, watching her uncles, cousins, grandfather, and great uncle play Quidditch.

Jacques, Edik, and Ivan were the only three that didn't require a broom. Audrey laughed as she watched her Great Uncle swiftly maneuver around Pavvel and score.

"Now who is the old man?" roared Ivan, a huge grin spreading across his face.

"I sometimes wonder if uncle Ivan is senile." said Sophia thoughtfully.

"Oh heavens no, my Sophia…" said Anastasia casually, sipping a glass of water. "He's always been this way."

They burst out laughing.

"Are you going to see Sven?" Anastasia asked, turning to her granddaughter. "He's been asking when you were coming for nearly two weeks!"

Audrey laughed.

_**Sven, was my childhood friend. I had met him in the Summer Gardens when I was accompanying my grandmother there one morning. We have been friends and penpals since.**_

"Where is Sven?" Audrey asked curiously.

"Where else would he be?" Sophia snorted. "He is at the Palace Square, sketching as usual."

"Can I go, Nana? Please?" Audrey asked.

"Of course dear!" Anastasia replied, she shuffled up from her chair. "Let me make sure you have the money th-"

Audrey groaned, but her grandmother didn't hear her. She didn't like taking her grandparents' money.

Her grandmother began shoving wizard and muggle money at her, just incase.

"Nana, I-"

"Oh shush." Anastasia said, tutting. "We have more of this then we know what to do with. Now go!"

Audrey sighed, shaking her head at her grandmother's stubbornness and set out through the palace towards the front entrance. The run didn't take that long, it would have probably taken the average human about ten minutes. It took Audrey three.

She made her way down a few side streets and into the palace square.

Though it was technically still spring time, there were throngs of tourists, muggles and wizards alike in St. Petersburg.

Though it wasn't difficult at all to spot Sven. He was sitting in the center of the square, at the large fountain with his sketchbook out.

Audrey grinned and began to make her way through the masses to sneak up on her friend. He was avidly drawing, she looked over his shoulder.

"What's that, Sven?" Audrey said.

"Oh, I'm drawing that woman over there and her daughter. Positively gorgeous, Aud-" Sven stopped mid sentence and slowly turned his head grinning.

"You!" He said, jabbing her with his pencil.

"You!" Audrey mimicked, an inside joke. They hugged.

"I hear you were stalking my grandmother?" Audrey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!" Sven scoffed indignantly. Audrey laughed.

"I was merely asking her when you were arriving…_a lot_." He said, laughing with her.

Audrey sat down next to him on the fountain.

"Look at those muggles over there with the funny shirts…" Sven mumbled, jerking his head towards a few tourists wearing odd shirts with flowers on them.

Audrey giggled and elbowed her friend. "Maybe it's a muggle fashion trend, don't be ignorant, Sven."

"I'm not being ignorant! They're _hideous_. Muggle or Wizard, why would anyone want to wear one of _those_?"

Audrey nodded, he did have a point.

"Come on, the people I was drawing left the square. Let's go to the bakery, I'm starving." Sven said, getting up. Audrey followed.

_**This was what our summers consisted of, wandering the streets of the city, sitting in the square, watching people. Sven was the first person I had ever told about my powers, the first person who knew outside of my family and family friends. But it wasn't always that way, when I had first met Sven my grandmother forbid me to tell him anything. Of course, Sven was the first human I had ever really encountered…not counting my grandmother of course.**_

_**Though I had gone years without telling him, I unfortunately had to the previous summer.**_

_Audrey and Sven were wandering the streets as usual, it was nearing dusk and tourists and residents were slowly clearing out._

_As usual, the two had gotten ice cream from one of the vendors and were slowly heading back towards St. Aleksander's Palace when they heard a rattling coming from one of the alleyways._

_The children froze, exchanging glances. Then they heard voices._

"_NO! Please!" said a voice._

"_Where is it?"_

"_I don't know! I don't know!"_

"_You've been fooling us for too long, and now we're going to put an end to you."_

"_HELP!" the first voice wailed. "HELP!"_

_Sven and Audrey quickly and quietly made their way towards the alley, unsure of what was happening. Audrey saw four men, three of them were burly and muscular. One of the three was holding up a tiny stick of a man, one was standing there watching, and the other was in the tiny man's face. He was their leader, and the man who was threatening the tinier man._

_The leader raised his wand to the man's throat, and that's when Audrey's instincts kicked in._

_**I don't really know what I was thinking…I wasn't at all, actually.**_

"_HEY!" Audrey yelled._

_The men all turned their heads in the direction of the little voice. One of them burst out laughing._

"_It's just a little girl!"_

"_What do you want, little girl?" sneered their leader._

"_Leave him be." Audrey said sternly._

"_Him?" said the man who was holding up the tiny cowering man, he shook him. "We were just playing with him." The man was trying to trick her._

"_No you're not." said Sven, coming out of the shadows. The men burst into laughter again._

"_Ah we have some smart children here, Vladimir." said one of the men, addressing the leader._

_Vladimir wore a rather frightening grin, looking at the children._

"_Do you know the story of the little children who should have been in bed?" said Vladimir, approaching the two, twirling his wand._

"_No." spoke Sven. "But I know the story of the man with the bad teeth."_

_Audrey elbowed him and mumbled under her breath. "Not the time for that joke, Sven."_

"_Little children should be in bed at this hour and not meddling in business that is not theirs." said Vladimir, still approaching them, a sick and twisted smile was plastered on his face._

"_You're going to kill him." Audrey spoke angrily. "You are a pathetic human being."_

"_Oh am I?" Vladimir replied, now inches from their faces. "You're so smart for such a small child."_

_His breath was repugnant, and Audrey cringed as he stroked her face._

"_It is a shame, I have to kill something so pretty, I'm sure you would have had a lot of callers when you were older…" Vladimir said, raising his wand._

_Audrey retracted her arm quickly and pushed outward, a huge gust of air had knocked Vladimir backwards and straight into his cohorts. The skinny man that had been held hostage broke loose and began to run, he screamed over his shoulder at the children to run._

_The pair didn't hesitated and bolted, the three men had gotten up in the alleyway as quickly as possible._

"_I don't know what happened, they got lucky. You two get Afanasi! I'll deal with the children." Vladimir spat._

_Sven and Audrey set off running down side streets, until someone had pulled them into another alley._

_It was the skinny man who was nearly killed, he grinned at them showing pointed teeth. Sven cringed back, scared of the vampire but Audrey was fine._

_The two men who were set out to find the vampire had stupidly passed the dark alleyway. Their footsteps echoed down the street and were heard no more._

"_Thank you." He whispered to them. "I am most grateful."_

"_You're…you…you…" Sven was at a loss for words, looking at the vampire._

"_My name is Afanasi." The vampire gave a little bow. "And I can promise you that I do not mean any harm. I am here undercover as a wizard."_

_Before either of the children could say anything, Afanasi turned to Audrey._

"_I know what you are…" He said, bowing to her once more. "However, I do not feel it wise that you are out at night. St. Petersburg is a safe city, but it is not when the sun falls."_

_Sven was now gaping at her and Afanasi._

"_He didn't know…until tonight…" Audrey said, motioning towards her companion._

"_Who were those men?" She asked, looking up at their new found friend._

"_Vladimir Morozov and his followers. They aren't the nicest of wizards…" said Afanasi._

"_What did they want from you?" said Sven, finally relaxing a bit._

"_I am a double agent working with the Russian Ministry, Vladimir thought I had something that could ensure his rise to power over the country. I staged this meeting with him tonight to tell him I didn't have it, I knew he would try to kill me. Hit Wizards are stationed all around the city. He will be caught." said Afanasi. _

"_I appreciate your kind efforts, but it was a silly thing to do. You both could have been seriously injured, or killed." He was looking directly at Audrey as he said it._

"_You need to be more careful." He said to her. "I will be watching you, just to make sure."_

"_Thank you." Audrey said, he bowed again and left the alleyway._

"_Would you mind explaining to me what even happened tonight?" Sven said in a whisper as the two walked quickly back through the Palace square and down a few side streets._

_They arrived quickly in the entrance hallway of 's Palace and Audrey closed the door quickly. She began to tell him about her powers._

_**Sven had taken it quite well really, I think that it was just the events from which this all had come about that had shocked him. I swore him to secrecy, and he has kept my secret as well as my family's.**_

_**During the last week of July that summer, I was woken around seven in the morning by my grandmother yelling for me to come downstairs. **_


	6. Chapter 6

We're moving along people! :P Just finished writing chapter eight.

Thanks for the reviews, Kankananime123, Rockinrachy, Sarah Liz B!

So, there's this link at the bottom of the page that says _Review This Chapter_…I'd **really** appreciate it if you clicked it and wrote something. ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 6

_**Naturally, when my grandmother yelled throughout the palace the whole family could hear. By the time I had reached the drawing room where I had figured she was, my aunts, uncle, great uncle, grandfather, and cousins were all there waiting for me as well.**_

_**Everyone was looking at me with blank expressions; I wasn't sure what was going on.**_

"Good…morning?" Audrey said, perplexed.

They all said nothing, and stared at her until Ivan spoke.

"You've gotten a letter." He said gruffly, thrusting an envelope into her hands. Audrey felt nervous, she read the front.

**Audrey F. Dalio**  
><strong>St. Aleksander's Palace,<strong>  
><strong>St. Petersburg, Russia.<strong>

Audrey focused on the letter and read silently to herself.

"_Dear Ms. Dalio,_

_We are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of supplies you will need for the upcoming school year. Term begins on September 1__st__. We will await your owl no later than August 5__th__._

_Minerva McGonagall,_

_Deputy Headmistress."_

Audrey looked up from the letter to notice her entire family grinning broadly.

"You knew?" She asked, mirroring their smiles. They nodded.

"Well it was obvious, the wax seal is the school's crest." said Jacques.

"How would you even know that? You go to Beauxbatons!" Audrey exclaimed. Jacques shrugged and everyone laughed.

"We've owled Isaac." said her grandmother excitedly. "He should be coming-"

Anastasia Ivanoff-Dalio didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence, the nearby fireplace erupted and a large mass shot out of it.

Isaac brushed himself off and smiled.

"Dobroe utro!" He said, grinning.

"Dad!" Audrey said, running to her father and hugging him.

"I'll get the alcohol." Ivan said.

"No you will not!" scolded Anastasia, hitting her brother in law. "It is far too early."

"It's never too early to celebrate." Ivan retorted conjuring some firewhiskey, Edik hit his forehead with his palm.

"It's about time you came to visit, Isaac." said Pavvel, hugging his older brother.

"We haven't seen you in ages." chimed in Sophia.

"I know! I know!" Isaac said. "We've been a little busy."

"Busy enough to dump your child on us?" Ivan boomed.

"Oh hush, you were just as excited she was coming as the rest of us." Anastasia said, hitting her brother in law in the arm with a newspaper.

"It's true, it's true." Ivan admitted, pouring himself some fire whiskey.

"Did you know?" Audrey asked, turning to her father.

"I didn't doubt it." Isaac said, his green eyes dancing. "I had a feeling since you were born. But something did trouble me…"

"That she'd blow up the school or something?" said Hans.

"Precisely!" said Isaac, pointing at his nephew and smiling.

Audrey looked down, she knew that Hogwarts castle was made of stone. Not exactly the best place for her to be perhaps.

Isaac lifted his daughter's chin so she was staring up at him. "But I know you are very controlled, and I had to talk to Albus about a few things…"

"Albus…the man we met in April at St. James Park when you were fixing the groundskeeper's house?" Audrey asked, her eyes widening.

"The very same." Isaac said.

"You're telling me you didn't formally tell her about Albus?" Edik said, turning to his son.

"Well, he was on a date it seems." Isaac said thoughtfully.

"During the school year?" Anastasia questioned, giving her son a peculiar look.

"He is allowed to do as he pleases." Isaac said, defending the Headmaster.

"What about Albus?" Audrey said exasperatedly.

"He is the Headmaster of Hogwarts." said Ivan.

Audrey cocked her head at her father, waiting for an explanation.

"As I was saying, he is allowed to do as he pleases. Merlin forbid the man take off a day and go out somewhere and enjoy himself. He was with Hisoka Emi." Isaac shot a look at his Uncle, who looked as though he may have a heart attack.

"_The _Hisoka Emi?" Ivan asked.

"Is that Uncle Ivan's girlfriend?" Hans cooed.

"No!" Ivan snarled. "But she is bloody brilliant…she is a cello goddess!"

Jacques snorted. "He loves her."

"Yes, can I finish now?" Isaac said, shooting his nephew and his uncle a look. They nodded.

"I sent an owl to Albus the day before just asking him a few things, such as what to do if Audrey has any issues…I don't think she will, but I do not want her to be provoked. I want her to have a normal school life as possible-"

Edik snorted, Isaac ignored his father and continued.

"And I don't want her to be bothered or exposed. Albus wanted to mentor her in defense, which I agreed to. But there is something else…something I'm not completely sure about."

Isaac's family gave him a look, all of them waiting to go on.

"I want to discuss it with just Ivan, my parents, and Audrina if you don't mind." He said, looking as his brother, sisters, and nephews.

"Fine, fine." Pavvel said, opening the door and letting the others out, he followed, shutting the door.

"What is it, Isaac?" Anastasia asked, looking at her son with big eyes.

"It's nothing urgent, Mother." Isaac said, sitting down in a chair. "Hisoka Emi offered to mentor Audrey…I just…I don't know."

"What's so bad about it?" Ivan snorted.

"She wants to mentor her and eventually get her jobs. It's a nice gesture, but I don't know…the stakes are a little high." Isaac said, wringing his hands.

"Isaac, you cannot keep her hidden forever. What good is a life spent in hiding?" Edik said sternly, looking at his son.

"He's right. She has to be let into the world sooner or later." said Ivan.

_**I sat through their conversation, listening silently. My mind was racing…**_

"But she is only a child; she needs to be taught first. You cannot simply send her into this world without any defenses!" Anastasia scolded.

Edik nodded.

"Did she say anything in regards to when she wanted to get Audrey jobs?" Edik asked, looking at his son.

"No…" Isaac said.

"Surely if she is a friend of Albus' she can be trusted?" Anastasia asked, looking from her husband to her son.

"It is not trust that is the issue, mother. It is Audrey." Isaac said seriously.

Audrey looked at her father.

"I don't want anyone to hurt my Audrey." He said softly.

"Perhaps, Hisoka meant that when Audrey was of age?" Ivan supplied.

"Write to her, Ivan." said Anastasia. "That is the only way you will find out. And perhaps lessons would be good, while she is at school? What do you think, dear?"

"I wouldn't mind lessons during the school year…" Audrey said thoughtfully.

_**Though I more than anything wanted to go out into the world, I knew better then to mention it in front of my family for I know what response I would get in return. It was for the best at the time…we all had to be careful.**_

"Well, that solves half of the problem for now." Edik clapped happily. "Now, we should probably be looking forward to more important matters. Purchasing school items, and your wand."

"But papa, will I even need a wand? I've seen you, Dad, and Uncle Ivan do wandless magic…" Audrey said, looking at her grandfather.

"Ah yes." Edik laughed, crouching down to his granddaughter. "We can all do wandless magic with great ease, because of what we are, but while you are at school, while you are young you need to use a wand. It's more for prop then anything. If the other students saw you doing magic without a wand so young they would be suspicious and prod."

Audrey nodded and said. "Okay, Papa."

"Plus, it is a family tradition to get a wand from Gregorovitch!" said Ivan. "Even if we hardly use them!"

Isaac and Edik exchanged a look and laughed.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for the review, Kankananime123! :P

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 7

_**Gregorovitch's main shop was in Bulgaria, however he had another shop in Gorky, known later as Novgorod, just outside of the city. I made the journey with my father and grandfather by side-apparition. The shop was located in a very small wizarding alley near the Volga river.**_

_**The shop was always open, Gregorovitch had a hired assistant and he constantly apparated back and forth from both shops whenever a customer would ring the bell at the front desk.**_

_**Fortunately that morning, we were the only customers. Of course I knew the reason why, my father and my grandfather were very cautious when going out in Russia. They were known here, especially my grandfather. Though creatures were treated poorly worldwide, the Russian Ministry did not take too kindly to us. Very few creatures were allowed jobs, such as Afanasi, but even then, they did not know that he was a vampire. When there was a crime, we were always blamed first and as a result, the public eye has looked down upon us further and dark wizards have gotten away with more crimes.**_

"Karl!" Edik said, grinning. "Ring the bell, boy! We need to purchase a wand."

Karl, the shopkeeper was a rather attractive young man with sandy brown hair and blue eyes. He wasn't much older than Audrey, and he was staring right at her.

Audrey blushed and turned away for a moment. Isaac and Edik were pacing in the shop waiting for the wandmaker. Karl winked at Audrey when they weren't looking and she returned it with a smile.

_Crack._

"Ugh, I knew you old hags would be back to bother me!" Gregorovitch boomed, dusting himself off.

Edik and Isaac gave the man a very stern look, both of their eyes going red. Gregorovitch returned it with a glare. The three men broke composure and began to laugh.

Audrey wore a perplexed look.

"And who is this?" Gregorovitch said with a smile, looking at Edik. "The last grandchild?"

"The very one." Edik replied with a grin. "This is my Audrina."

"_Your _Audrina?" Isaac said, giving his father a look.

"Well you are from him." Gregorovitch pointed out, looking from Isaac to Edik.

"Don't boost his ego further, Gregorovitch." said Isaac.

"Fine, fine." Gregorovitch held up his hands. "Let's get this lovely young woman a wand, yes?"

_**I was a little nervous; Jacques had told me he nearly blew up the store when he was trying out wands. But of course, nothing went as wrong as I thought it would. After trying about twenty wands, Gregorovitch had an idea…**_

"Your wife donated a few hairs to me many years back; I still have one wand left from then…perhaps…" Gregorovitch trailed off, he began searching his shelves.

"Grandmother donated some hairs?" Audrey asked.

"Your grandmother is _veela_, Gregorovitch practically begged her." said Edik, throwing his hands in the air. "I thought he was trying to steal her away from me, he'd come every day to the palace begging. I kept kicking him out."

_**I knew that my grandmother was a veela, but seeing as I had always known her as being much older I never really thought about it much.**_

"Oh I only wanted some hairs, Edik! It's not my fault you married a veela. _Every _man in town wanted her, and surely you remember her crazy father?"

Isaac laughed, remembering his grandfather and namesake. He was a pure blooded powerful wizard to most, but he was also a closeted werewolf. Isaac had always heard stories of how insanely over protective his grandfather was of his mother.

Audrey tried the wand and red sparks shot out, a powerful windswept her hair back.

"Ah! Perfect!" Gregorovitch cried. "I am sure Anastasia will be most pleased."

"Oh she will be, and she probably will not shut up about it for the rest of our lives." Edik moaned, thinking of his wife gloating.

The three thanked Gregorovitch, purchased the wand and quickly set back to the palace, for none of them had had breakfast yet and Edik was complaining.

"You are ridiculous." Isaac said, as the three were walking through the front gardens up towards the entrance to the palace.

"I am not ridiculous!" Edik whined. "When you're as old as I am you need your nutrition, Isaac. I have a rapid moving metabolism."

"So do I." Isaac hissed. "And I do not complain!"

"It gets faster as you age, son." Edik said, having the final word as they entered the dining hall.

"It's about time!" Hans yelled.

"Yeah you only took _forever_." said Jacques, eyeing a plate of eggs hungrily.

"Sorry boys, your uncle Isaac talks too much." Edik said.

"I talk too much, you and Gregorovitch were going on for hours."

"It was _only _forty five minutes, Dad." Audrey said pointedly, Edik high-fived his granddaughter.

"Obviously, Audrey knows where to side." Edik said, grinning at his son.

"Oh please." Isaac scoffed.

"It's-" Edik didn't get to finish. Anastasia had just walked in and cut him off.

"Oh will you two be quiet? You're like an old married couple." She said, making her was to the table and sitting between Edik and her granddaughter.

"Ew." said Pavvel, sticking his tongue out thinking of that.

"Shut it, Pavvel." Isaac said, grinning.

"Can we eat now?" asked Peter.

"Of course, dear." Anastasia replied.

"_THANK MERLIN_." said Hans and Jacques together.

"You both are weird." Audrey said, laughing.

"Audrey, tell your grandmother what type of wand you have." Isaac said, a devilish grin on his features.

"Don't do it." Edik groaned.

"Yes, do it!" Isaac smirked.

"Nana, I have one of your hairs in my wand!" Audrey exclaimed, giggling.

Anastasia jumped up from the table and turned to her husband. "HA! EDIK! I WON THE BET!"

"Bet?" Audrey asked.

"She and Pop bet on it when Airleas was pregnant with you." said Sophia.

Audrey laughed and watched as her grandmother danced around her grandfather, a huge gloating smile on her face.


	8. Chapter 8

These next two chapters are short, unfortunately. But in chapter 10 we finally see the Marauders! (I'm quite excited.)

Well, anyway, it'd be nice to get some reviews…*wink wink*

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 8

_**After breakfast, I had showered and set out with my grandmother and aunts to shop around St. Petersburg. For school robes and supplies alike, they had found Sven and his father while shopping and getting fitted for robes.**_

"_Fiona_!" Sven exclaimed. "Where did you get accepted?"

"Hogwarts." Audrey replied with a grin.

"Excellent!" said Sven's father. "I have a friend that went to Hogwarts, he loved it."

"Where did you get accepted, Sven?" Alina asked.

"Durmstrang." Sven said, he looked a bit nervous.

"It isn't a bad school at all." Anastasia assured the young boy. "You just have to make sure you don't get mixed with the wrong sort."

Sven looked pale and nodded.

"That's what I told him as well." Sven's father said. "It will be fine."

"I hope so…" He replied.

_**I had to admit, I was nervous for Sven. My father had gone to Durmstrang and absolutely hated it, he called it a breeding ground for dark wizards and criminals. Of course, this was a very biased view of the school but it was the only view I knew of.**_

_**Within a few days of receiving my Hogwarts letter and buying all of my supplies for the year. My father had called me down to the library along with my grandparents and great uncle.**_

"What is it now, Isaac?" Edik asked, a little annoyed that his practicing was interrupted.

"I have spoken with Hisoka." Isaac said.

Edik's facial expression changed from anger to curiosity within a second. Ivan had given his nephew rapt attention.

"And?" Anastasia asked.

"She told me that she would give Audrey lessons first, until she is of age for the performance world which-"

"Is fifteen years." Ivan finished.

"Yes." Isaac said, slightly annoyed with his uncle for interrupting. "Though she also said that if we were really concerned or if Audrey didn't feel comfortable she could start entertaining at seventeen."

"Excellent!" Ivan boomed. "Audrina you will be learning with one of the bests!"

Edik snorted. "You only say that because you fancy her."

"That may be true." Ivan said. "But she is bloody brilliant."

_**I'm not sure if I could even describe to you how I felt at that time, excitement is by far an understatement. Since I could walk and talk, all I wanted to do was go out into the real world…to be with people as well as other creatures.**_

_**And the thought of being a professional…it was all I've ever wanted, since I began to play. But I knew my father and my family would not be keen on the idea, I could understand why…but I refused to be sheltered my whole life. **_


	9. Chapter 9

One more chapter! :D

But I probably won't publish the next chapter until Monday, I've got a busy weekend ahead of me.

There's a nice twist in chapter ten as well… ;]

Reviews are nice…_please_?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 9

"So your father is considering it?" Sven asked, turning to her.

The two sat on a high wall, watching the sun set.

"Yeah." said Audrey, running a hand through her hair for a moment. "I'm surprised."

"Are you really that surprised, Audrey?" Sven snorted. "You're good!"

"Sven, I'm not nearly as good as-"

Sven gave her a look that said to shut it.

"Audrey, you're a brilliant musician. You need to stop doubting yourself." Sven said, but Audrey wouldn't let him have the final word.

"I will stop doubting myself when you stop doubting your drawing skills." Audrey said, mirroring the look he gave her before. He laughed.

"Fine, fine. It's a deal." He held out his hand and Audrey shook it.

After a few moments of silence, Audrey spoke.

"Are you still nervous?" She asked quietly.

Sven nodded. "I've heard nothing good of that school; I was talking to Karl about it. He goes there as well."

"Karl, the boy who works in Gregorovitch's shop?" Audrey asked, remembering the boy. He was incredibly good looking.

"Yes, he's Gregorovitch's grandson." Sven said, as though it were obvious.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah! How did you not know that? They're seen all the time around the city." Sven replied.

"Well." Audrey said pointedly. "I'm only here for three or four months out of the year, Sven. During the most _populated _season in the city might I add."

"Alright, that is true." Sven laughed, he changed the subject. "So what about you? Are you nervous?"

"I don't know…" Audrey began. "It's fifty-fifty. I'm excited, and I think that's just boosted by the fact that I have a cello instructor other then my father. I'm also going to be around beings my own age most of the year which will be fantastic. But there's this creeping fear that they won't like me, or they'll figure me out…that I'm not like them."

"Well, I didn't notice anything different about you in the eight years we've known each other until that run in with Vladimir last year." Sven said honestly.

Audrey laughed, remembering that night and how crazy it was.

"It's funny now." Sven said. "But at the time I had never been so scared in my life."

"Is Afanasi still in the city?" Audrey asked in a hushed voice, looking around carefully.

"I am not sure." Sven replied.

"He is." said another voice.

Audrey and Sven nearly fell off the wall in fright as the aforementioned vampire had jumped right in between the two and now sat on the wall.

"Dear _Merlin_." Sven said clutching his chest.

"Af! Don't do that!" Audrey said, playfully hitting him.

"Fanged jerk." Sven mumbled, the vampire chuckled.

"I couldn't resist, the timing was too opportune." He said.

"You are a creep." Audrey joked.

"And you have a horrible memory." Afanasi replied. "Did I not tell you last summer that I'd be watching?"

"You're still a creep." Sven said flatly, and then laughed.

The vampire put his arms around the two and stared off at the now pink and orange sky. "You both will be fine at school, don't worry."

Audrey strangely felt comforted by this, and hoped he was right.


	10. Chapter 10

Holy god, I've had a busy weekend. It was nice having reviews though! :]

Thanks for the reviews, Masterofbugs123, Kankananime123, Rockinrachy, Sarah Liz B (SevSev haha!), and Weasleytwinslover87!

I'm throwing you a twist in this chapter, but I'm sure you'll pick up on it quickly. ;]

So, now that the Marauders are in the mix, can I get some reviews?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 10

_**I went home with my father the for the remaining two weeks of August to see my mother before going off to school. She would be done teaching that week and arrived home about the same time.**_

_**I remember the exact look on her face when my father had told her I had been accepted. Pure elation. She had always been one to push for the rights of creatures, and I believe she wanted me to get out and experience the world as much as I did. **_

_**It was disappointing that she could not be with me and my father when we set off to Kings Cross the first morning of September. If she were seen with my father and I, it would give us away to an extent.**_

_**I tried telling my parents that I did not care, but they did…**_

"Audrey! You do not understand!" Isaac insisted.

"Understand?" Audrey's eyes turned red. "I think I _understand _perfectly, you forget that I'm no different from either of you. And I don't care what anyone thinks, you're my parents and I love you both. None of the humans opinions matter to me!"

_**Oh how that would change in less than twenty four hours.**_

Isaac's eyes turned a dangerous black; he emphasized every word he spoke. "_Audrina_, you must believe me. It is not safe for you."

"Why? WHY?" Audrey shrieked, it hurt Isaac's ears, he almost lost his balance.

Airleas then stood up, helping Isaac keep steady. Their daughter hadn't shrieked in a while and they had certainly thought it was only something she would do as an infant. Airleas was surprised and worried at the same time.

Audrey calmed a bit, noticing what had happened, she murmured a quick apology.

"I will tell you, one day…my Audrey. One day, when you are ready to know. You are far too young to worry about such things." Isaac replied, keeping his voice calm.

"I am sorry." Audrey said, her eyes were blue. She was worried now that she had seriously hurt him.

After Isaac had stumbled out of the room, Airleas hugged her daughter to her chest.

"He'll be fine, he's experienced enough of my blow ups to know somewhat how to handle yours." She said, half serious half joking.

The next morning, Isaac and Audrey woke early and made their way to the train station, Edik had port keyed to a wooded area near the station to meet them. Part of the reason was because he wanted to see his granddaughter off, the other part that he had been the only other living Dalio to go to Hogwarts. Neither Isaac, nor Audrey had a clue as to where Platform 9¾ was.

They were there just fifteen minutes before the train was to leave, and Edik noticed a black haired boy alone in the station. He had a trunk and an owl, and looked incredibly bewildered.

"Well?" Isaac asked his father.

"Hold on." Edik said to his son. "Listen as I explain it to this young man, eh?"

Audrey watched as her grandfather approached the boy, she listened intently though they were quite a distance away.

"Are you looking for Platform 9 ¾ son?" Edik asked, looking at the boy.

"Yes, sir. My mother told me what it is, but I'm not sure which barrier it is." said the boy.

"Ah, yes. It's a bit of a tricky thing." Edik replied. "Do you see that brick wall right there? The one between nine and ten? That's where you're going to go."

The boy looked hesitant.

"You do it at a fast walk or a slow jog, depending on your preference." Edik smiled.

"Thank you, sir." The boy replied, now looking at his shoulder and seeing the other man and the young girl.

**She wasn't real to me, not real at **_**all**_**…**

Edik went back to his son and granddaughter after the boy had passed through the barrier, now they only had ten minutes left.

"Ready?" He asked the two.

They both nodded.

_**Though some have said crossing the barrier was frightening, I found it exhilarating. It was like passing into a new life. Everything had happened so quickly, and before I knew it I was on the train looking for a compartment.**_

The train had just started to move and Audrey had managed to find a nearly empty compartment, save for a black haired boy and a red headed girl.

"Could I sit here?" Audrey asked, standing in the compartment doorway.

"Sure!" beamed the redhead.

The boy just nodded.

"I'm Audrey, by the way." Audrey said, sitting down next to the boy and across from the girl.

"Hello, Audrey." The other girl beamed. "I'm Lily, and this is Severus."

Severus looked at Audrey, and just gave her a nod.

"Nice to meet you both…" Audrey replied. "I assume Severus is not much for words?"

"You've assumed correctly." said Severus, staring out the window. Audrey laughed; Lily threw Severus a cold look but then turned to Audrey.

"So, where are you from, Audrey? You've got a bit of an accent." Lily was polite.

"Oh, I'm from England but my father's from Russia and my mother is from Ireland. It's an interesting household…" Audrey grinned.

"I can imagine." Lily smiled.

"So are you both…?" Audrey began, not sure how to phrase the question without being rude. She knew how stingy some wizards would be if you were to ask them if they were muggles.

"She is." Severus spoke, seeming to understand Audrey's question. "I'm half."

Lily looked perplexed, and Severus explained.

"She wanted to know if we both had magical relatives or not." He said, she gave him a cold stare still. Audrey wondered why.

She then turned sweetly to Audrey. "No, I don't…I'm a little nervous about it, really."

"There's nothing to be nervous about though." Severus interjected but Lily ignored him.

"Oh, I completely understand, Lily." Audrey replied sympathetically. She was just as worried as fitting into the school for _other_ reasons of course.  
>"It's an adjustment, but from what I've been told the school is amazing."<p>

"Are your parents non-magical too?" She asked, slightly shy.

_**Oh how badly I just wanted to say… "Well, my mother's a banshee and I don't even know what to properly call my father!"  
><strong>__**But I knew better, I had to honor my mother and father's wishes, as well as those of my grandfather.**_

"No, my parents are magical…but I've lived in Russia for half of my life and I don't really know many people in England." Audrey said, it was true. Her time in St. Petersburg had been long in earlier years.

"That explains your bizarre accent." Severus pointed out. Audrey laughed.

"Oh honestly, Sev! It's not that bizarre. It's a _slight _accent, nothing incredibly detectable." Lily said, more to Audrey then to Severus.

_**We talked for a good half hour, about what we thought the school was going to be like. Severus was opening up a bit more, telling us what he knew of the school. I told them a few of the stories my grandfather had told me. Though our conversation diminished once our compartment door opened once more.**_

A boy with messy black hair and glasses poked his head into the compartment.

"D'you mind if we sit in here? Everywhere else is full." He said.

"Sure." Audrey said politely, noticing the other two were silently bickering next to her.

"Excellent!" The boy replied, he then yelled down the hallway. "OI! I FOUND A COMPARTMENT!"

Audrey heard a bustle of footsteps and three other boys followed the first. One was short, timid boy with sandy blonde hair; the other was taller with kind eyes and light brown hair. The last boy to walk in Audrey recognized at once.

He seemed to recognize her too.

"Hey! You're the girl from the train station!" He said, smirking.

"Hello." Audrey replied.

"You know her?" The boy with the messy hair asked him.

"Well, not really. Haven't said two words to her until about twenty seconds ago. Her grandfather helped me get through to the Platform." He replied.

"What a nice bloke!" exclaimed the messy haired boy, sitting down. "Oh, I'm James by the way.

"I'm Lily." said the red head.

"Severus." said Severus, quieter than before.

"And who are you, beautiful?" asked James' companion, turning to Audrey.

"Who's asking?" Audrey retorted cleverly.

"You can't answer my question with a question!" Sirius whined.

"Who said I can't?" Audrey smirked.

"I did!" He replied.

"And you are…?" She said.

"He's serious, love." James interjected, giving her a look. The two other boys snickered.

"I'm Sirius!" said the boy, getting frustrated.

"Well, serious _Sirius_. My name is Audrey." She said finally, laughing.

Sirius couldn't help but smile at her laughter.

"Well, _Audrey_." said James loudly, breaking Sirius from his trance. "Now that we took forever to know your name…this is Peter, and Remus." James pointed to the short boy and the taller boy respectively.

"Hello." Audrey waved.

Severus nodded at them, and Lily also said hi.

_**Everything was going fine in the compartment for a portion of the ride until James had overheard Severus and Lily talking about houses.**_

"You better be in Slytherin." He said with a smile.

"Slytherin?" James asked.

Everyone had stopped their conversations, the compartment fell silent. Audrey was rather disappointed, she and Remus had been getting along splendidly.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James said, turning to Sirius.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin." Sirius said, not smiling.

"Blimey!" said James, his eyes wide. "And I thought you seemed alright!"

Sirius grinned and said. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

Audrey laughed when James lifted an invisible sword and said proudly. "Gryffindor! Where the brave dwell at heart! Like my dad."

Severus snorted.

_**And from there, things had gotten bad…**_

"Got a problem with that?" James asked.

"No." Severus sneered. "If you'd rather be brawny then brainy-"

"Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interrupted Sirius.

James howled with laughter.

Audrey was annoyed, and by the looks of it, so was Lily. They exchanged glances, seeming to understand each other perfectly. Audrey stood up first, then Lily, then Severus.

"Come on, guys." said Lily. "Let's go look for another compartment."

The two mocked Lily.

"Agreed." Audrey replied, giving the two boys a glare.

**I felt a little tear inside of me**.


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for the reviews, Kankananime123, Sarah Liz B (You'll see… :P), and Weasleytwinslover87!

If you read my first story, you'll find a similar scenario in this chapter…

I'm trying to do a chapter a day, hopefully I can go up to two a day when the story moves forward a bit. :]

If you do or don't like cheese, you should **review**. ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 11

_**After finding our own compartment, we remained undisturbed for the rest of the ride though I still sensed tension between Severus and Lily. I didn't find out the reasons behind it until after we had arrived at the train station in Hogsmeade and were being called by the Hogwart's gamekeeper, Hagrid to follow him.**_

"Where is he leading us?" Lily asked, more to Audrey then to Severus.

"My grandfather told me that first years always ride across the lake as a tradition." said Audrey.

"I heard some boy saying earlier on the train that there was a giant squid in the lake." Lily said, biting her lip.

"I've heard that too, but I don't think it's true. My mother never saw it when she went to school." Severus said, trying to be of some comfort to his companions.

_**I think I was the only one on that boat excited by the thought that there could be a giant squid in the black lake.**_

Within a few minutes of rowing, they heard a scream coming from their left. A giant tentacle had sprung out of the water, thrashing.

"'E means no harm!" yelled Hagrid over the screams. "He's just greetin' ye!"

The squid continued to thrash around, and the trio had gotten soaked.

Audrey swished her head to the side, knocking her long, wet, black hair out of her face. She looked at a petrified Lily and a normal looking Severus and began to laugh.

"Audrey!" Lily whined. "I hardly think this is the time for laughter."

Severus now broke into laughter as well, Audrey was shocked but still couldn't stop laughing.

"Lils…I just…" She laughed. "I can't believe it's actually real."

With that, Lily began to laugh with the other two.

When the three finally reached the castle with the other first years, Audrey looked around noticing that many of the other first years were soaked.

Out of all the murmuring and talking came two loud voices.

"AND I GRABBED IT'S TENTACLE! AND SIRIUS WAS RIGHT THERE, AND HE WAS BEATING IT WITH ONE OF THE OARS." James said, frantically moving his arms.

"AND THEN IT GRABBED PETER, AND JAMES DOVE ONTOP OF IT AND STABBED IT WITH HIS WAND." said Sirius, reenacting the stabbing motion.

"Oh Merlin." Audrey said, nodding her head towards the boys that they shared the compartment with for a while on the train. Lily looked aggravated and Severus just glared.

Remus noticed them looking and gave Audrey a small wave and a sad smile. They were having a fantastic conversation on the train about William Shakespeare, the wizard author who was even popular with the muggles. Sadly, it was interrupted by the little outburst between Severus and James.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." said a voice; all the first years were quiet. A tall woman with tight black hair that was pulled back into a bun and emerald green robes approached them.

"I am Professor McGonagall, the start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts."

"I hope _she's _in our _family_." Sirius whispered to James, nodding his head towards Audrey.

James gave a small laugh.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points."

At this moment, Severus, Audrey, and Lily exchanged glances and quickly looked over at James and Sirius.

"At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

With that, Professor McGonagall left momentarily. Audrey noticed Lily smoothing out her robes. She also looked to the left and saw Sirius lick his hand and attempt to flatten James' hair.

_**I knew from the moment I saw those two together on the train that they would forever be inseparable.**_

They were led into the hall, Audrey, like many others, looked at the ceiling that was littered with stars. She was irked when Sirius and James kept trying to trip Severus all the way into the hall. Edik had told her all about the Sorting Hat and how it sang every year.

"_I swear, Audrina! The song gets longer ever year." _Audrey heard her grandfather in her head as the Hat began to belt.

"How long do you think this will go?" Lily whispered to Audrey, ten minutes into the song. Audrey shrugged in response.

The first name was called, and Audrey and Lily were silenced.

_**The names seemed to fly by, and then he was called…**_

"Black, Sirius."

The hall seemed to fall under an unusual silence, Audrey noticed to her right the house decked out in green robes. They were the most intent, watching him like hawks.

Sirius sat on the stool straight faced as the Hat began to mutter quietly to itself.

_**I had the advantage of hearing a lot better than a human being, and I could hear what the Hat was saying clearly.**_

"_Your family has been in Slytherin since the founding of this very school…you would do great things there; there are no doubts on that. Cunning and clever, just like your ancestors…but there is something else, bravery, a lot of it…so much that you're stubborn…loyalty, willing to die for people that are worth it…"_

Audrey couldn't hear any of Sirius' thoughts of course, but it was quite an advantage to have such excellent hearing. A _rude _advantage, but still…

"Hmm…" The Hat grumbled out loud. "Best be…GRYFFINDOR!"

The table of students in red, the Gryffindor table, burst into loud, obnoxious applause. Audrey then turned to the table of green, many of them were murmuring to each other and throwing looks over at the Gryffindor table. She could only assume that those students were of the Slytherin house.

Before she knew it, she was called.

"Dalio, Audrey."

_**What an odd experience, it was. The Hat seemed to take forever with it's decision.**_

"_Another Dalio!" The hat exclaimed inside her head. "What's taken so long?"_

"_My father went to Durmstrang." Audrey thought to the Hat._

"_Ah, yes…the famous Dalio line is known for it's movement between the schools." The hat reasoned._

"_Famous?" Audrey asked. "I hardly think we're famous, more like infamous."_

"_Involuntarily infamous. Misunderstood, you are, daughter of Dalio." said the Hat._

"_I suppose…" Audrey replied._

"_The Dalio family is a part of the first generation of Hogwarts students, since then, it's descendants have graced three of our four houses…Now, where to put you, Audrey Fiona Dalio?"_

"_Slytherin, where the cunning and ambitious stay?" The hat asked, more to itself then Audrey._

"_NO." Audrey thought. "I've heard awful things about that lot."_

"_Not Slytherin, eh? What about Ravenclaw, you are quite witty. Your great great grandfather was in Ravenclaw…" _

"_I-" Audrey began but the Hat didn't regard anything she wanted to say and continued to talk._

"_Or Gryffindor…you have a brave, burning heart. I can feel it. You are courageous…"_

"Alright…" The Hat said out loud. "Better be…GRYFFINDOR!"

**Oh the next seven years were going to be **_**so **_**enjoyable.**

Lily was the next recognizable person to get into Gryffindor house. Sirius had moved to make room for her on the bench but she gave him an angry look and instead sat next to Audrey, who _unfortunately _was across from him.

"Ladies." Sirius grinned, tipping an imaginary hat to them. They returned it with an emotionless look.

_**If at that exact moment you had told me what my relationship with Sirius Black was going to come out to, I would have thought you were a filthy liar.**_

Remus Lupin was the next familiar name to come into Gryffindor house. He grinned sitting next to Sirius, and was perplexed by the looks that Lily and Audrey gave Sirius. Audrey however smiled at Remus.

"Now we can finish our conversation." Remus smiled.

Audrey nodded.

"What conversation?" Sirius butted in.

"We _were_ talking about William Shakespeare." Audrey said, slightly haughty. "But I'm sure you wouldn't know much about him, would you?"

Sirius' reply shocked the three; he turned to Remus and spoke.

"And thus I clothe my naked villany, with odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ, and seem a saint, when most I play the devil!"

Remus chuckled. Audrey said nothing, for at the very same moment, James Potter had joined their table.

"Aha!" Sirius said, clapping James on the back. James grinned.

"Fancy seeing you here, mate. I thought your family were with that Slytherin lot?"

Sirius laughed.

"I broke tradition, I suppose."

"_Snape, Severus."_

Audrey and Lily turned, watching Severus. He was one of four students left.

_**The hat barely touched his head when it said he was in Slytherin. I wasn't sure how I felt…I forced myself to reserve my judgments and I am thankful I did.**_

"I hope he's alright." Lily whispered to Audrey.

"He can hold himself." Audrey reassured, she saw something different in Severus that many couldn't see. She just didn't know what it was yet.

Audrey and Lily decided to ignore the boys next to them and talk to a blonde girl that was also a first year by the name of Marlene.

"Well, I know there's a dance studio upstairs…I don't know who teaches and how selective they are. I only know step." Marlene said conversationally as they were eating.

"Woah! You dance too?" Audrey asked.

Marlene nodded and replied. "I started at age two."

Audrey grinned. "Me too, step, modern, and ballet. But primarily step, my teacher hates modern and ballet."

Marlene laughed. "Good then, I met this girl on the train who was also a step dancer. Incredibly _stuck _up! I couldn't believe it! She got sorted into _Slytherin _of course."

The other two girls laughed at this.

Time had flown at the feast, and before they knew it they were being led up to Gryffindor tower by the prefects.

The girls were rather tired and a little annoyed at James and Sirius who were being obnoxious. Peter was laughing at them and Remus followed shaking his head.

"I'm sorry about them." Remus whispered to Audrey, nodding his head towards his companions.

"Oh it's alright, Remus. You can't control those lunatics. I don't think anyone can without a proper stunning spell." Audrey's face broke into a smile, Remus grinned.

After meeting their other roommate, Ashley Bell, the girls had called it a night.


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for the reviews, kankananime123, Weasleytwinslover87, and SuperNovaWriter! I really appreciate it.

So, I've been getting quite a few author/story alerts lately, and I just wanted to say **THANKS**!

Help a sister out and review? Eh?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 12

_**The first few weeks of school were busy, from finding our way around the school to understanding what we were learning. Eventually, we got into the rhythm of things. Lily and I would meet Severus in the library whenever the three of us had a free period to do work and talk about our days.**_

"Flying?" Audrey asked, looking at their schedule. She was horrified.

_**I don't do broomsticks. It's not impossible for me to use one, but it's just so useless. I could fly on a rock, or I could fly with the wind. Why use a household item to fly anyway? I never understood wizards…**_

"Oh, it's not bad." Severus said. "It's a little scary just getting on the broom but-"

"It's not that, Sev." Audrey replied, her eyes wide.

"Then what is it?" He asked, his eyes boring into her. Lily was just as curious.

"Are you afraid of heights?" She asked.

Audrey shook her head.

"I used to fly all the time." Audrey said a sad longing look on her face, lying on the spot. "But I had this _really _bad accident when I was young and every time since then getting on a broom makes me incredibly dizzy."

_**Thankfully, Lily was easily convinced and she turned sympathetic. Severus seemed to be just the same at first.**_

Within five minutes of them dropping the subject about Audrey's "broomstick vertigo" an owl swooped into the library and dropped a letter on their table.

It was a small piece of parchment addressed to Audrey.

_Miss Dalio,_

_Please meet me in Professor McGonagall's office in ten minutes._

_- Albus Dumbledore._

Audrey turned the parchment around and showed her companions.

"Did you do anything?" Lily asked, concerned. Audrey shook her head.

"Maybe it's something else?" Severus suggested, trying to be calm. "Perhaps you've won an award?"

Audrey snorted. "For what? Being an average first year?"

"No." said a voice from behind them in the library. "For being _so_ damn attractive."

**One of my best lines, really.**

Sirius Black, along with James, Peter and Remus were sitting at a table a few feet away from them. Audrey noticed Severus sneer, Lily looked a tad less annoyed. James had been friendlier to her in class, except of course when they had had class with the Slytherins and when Lily was around Severus. Though really, in those circumstances James was rude to Severus, Lily was just incredibly angered about it, as was Audrey.

Audrey rose from her chair, figuring she'd go to Professor McGonagall's office early. She didn't feel like dealing with Sirius more then she already had to, and she had to _a lot_. They had every class together.

"Where are you going, Dalio?" James called.

"I've got somewhere else to be." said Audrey, looking over her shoulder.

Sirius sighed, slamming his book.

"Now I don't want to study anymore, mate."

"Who said you were actually studying?" snorted Remus, who was looking through his Transfiguration book.

"I _was_ studying!" Sirius whined.

"Yeah, studying _her_." James elbowed him.

"And _you _weren't studying Evans over there?" Sirius retorted.

"Oh no, I wasn't studying Evans, my friend. I _am _studying Evans. Learn your tenses." James lightly smacked him upside the head with a book. Sirius shook his head grinning.

Audrey had set off down the corridor and headed downstairs to her head of house's office. Really, it was the only office she knew the location to.

She knocked on the door when she arrived.

"Enter." called a familiar stern voice that belonged to Minerva McGonagall.

Audrey opened the door to find Albus Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and someone else sitting in three arm chairs. She couldn't see the third person; all she saw was a large black lump that she assumed was their hair. It had to be a woman with her hair in a large bun.

"Ah, Miss Dalio! I'm so delighted that you could join us. Please sit." Albus said pleasantly. He looked different to Audrey with his wizard robes on, the first time she met him he was cleverly disguised as a muggle.

Audrey nearly jumped when she was on her way to the open armchair as she noticed who the third person was.

_**Well…she wasn't technically a person.**_

Hisoka Emi.

Audrey looked from Dumbledore, to Hisoka, to Professor McGonagall.

"I see you're a little confused." Albus chuckled. "I figured it'd be a good idea to get some stuff out of the way. Hisoka will be coming weekly for your lessons, that gets one thing out of the way…"

"Sir? If you don't mind me asking, what am I supposed to do about flying lessons?" Audrey asked.

"That is the second thing to be addressed." replied Albus. "I've informed Madam Hooch of your situation and you have been excused from flying. Though I am not sure what you will tell your classmates."

"Oh, I've taken care of that already." Audrey said, going into an act. She put a hand on her forehead. "I suffered a horrible broom accident as a child, and whenever I mount a broom or try to fly one I become _incredibly _dizzy."

Hisoka's eyes danced in the firelight, she was thinking about something. Albus chuckled.

"I am glad you have your story down, the third and last thing is lessons." He said.

"But, I already take lessons…" Audrey replied, genuinely confused. Hisoka was still calculating something.

"Extra lessons." Albus said, lowering his half moon spectacles. "Your father wants you to be trained in regards to your abilities."

_**He had to word it so eloquently at the time, because I knew so little of my family history. I was always, always, told that I would know when I was older.  
><strong>__**Everything was in shadows, everything was secret…**_

"Who is teaching me?" Audrey asked.

"I will be first, during the school year. Your Uncle Ivan wants to over the summer."

_**In my childish mind at the time, the thought of learning from my Uncle Ivan was frightening. I loved him, but I knew he was a powerful wizard. He was not someone easy to defeat, ever.**_

Audrey nodded, brushing her great uncle out of her mind for the moment.

"I will owl you when to come for these lessons; they will most likely be at nightfall." Albus said, giving her a knowing look.

"And I will owl you with details of your cello lessons." Hisoka said, looking at the girl.

Audrey nodded, thanking the three and leaving quickly. She checked the library and noticed that Severus and Lily were gone, and set on foot again, Lily was probably in the common room.

When she arrived in the Gryffindor Common Room she didn't find anyone. No Lily, no Marlene, No Ashley. Audrey bit her lip, and decided to take the first stair case to their dormitory…no one was there.

Classes were over; they had two hours until dinner. Where could they be?

Audrey left the common room, setting off in a run.

_Bam!_

She slammed into someone and fell backwards.

"Audrey!"

"Marlene!" Audrey panted. "So sorry!"

"Oh, it's alright." Marlene replied, helping Audrey off the ground. She noticed that she was in her dance clothes.

"Did we have dance tonight?" Audrey asked, Marlene shook her head.

"No, we have it tomorrow night. I just went in to practice a bit after I finished my work. I didn't know where anyone was." Marlene replied.

_**We had auditioned our first week of term to be a part of the dance department, and had just recently gotten the results. The department was small as it is, yet incredibly selective. Marlene and I were two of the only four girls in the house to make it in. Though not many auditioned to begin with…**_

"I went in the common room to look for Lily but I couldn't find her, and I couldn't find those obnoxious guys either." Audrey said, giving Marlene a knowing look.

"You were hanging around with those fools?" Marlene snorted.

"No." Audrey snapped quickly. "They were hanging around _us_, of course!" Audrey threw her hands in the air, frustrated. "Severus, Lils, and I were having a lovely conversation and finishing up that ridiculous potions essay Slughorn assigned when those fools came blundering in and started chatting up a storm. And d'you know what Madame Pince did?"

"What?" Marlene asked.

"_Nothing_." The two said together. Audrey had known Marlene for only a short period of time but they seemed to get each other quite well.

They heard laughter around the corner and a familiar shriek.

"JAMES! STOP IT!"

Marlene and Audrey exchanged glances and then sprinted towards the noise.

_**When you look back on it, it was innocent really…**_

James, Sirius, and Peter (Remus had chosen not to participate in that day's shenanigans and was also yelling at James) were playing keep away with Lily's rucksack.

"What're the gits doing now, Remus?" Marlene asked, sitting next to him on a statue.

"The usual immaturity." Remus replied nonchalantly.

_**Out of the four, Marlene, Lily, and I agreed that we liked Remus the best. We were often with him studying in the common room when his dumber companions were absent…or off somewhere else being stupid.**_

…**Or off somewhere else being geniuses.**

Lily looked helpless and Marlene got incredibly angry.

"HEY YOU GITS, STOP IT!" She yelled, but they just took one look at her, laughed, then ignored her.

"Oh trust me, Marlene. I've tried." Remus said exasperated.

_**I, however, had an idea…**_

Audrey figured she would just use her powers, however, she had to be incredibly discreet and she knew just how to do so.

Both of her hands were at her side, making her look as if she wasn't doing anything. She curled all of her fingers inward on one of her hands, a loose fist. At the same time, a huge gust of wind came rushing through the corridor and knocked Sirius, Peter, and James to the ground. Lily rushed between them and grabbed her bag, her face almost as red as her hair.

"Where did that wind come from?" James exclaimed, stunned.

Marlene, Remus, and Audrey shrugged. Lily mumbled something under her breath, flicked her wand and there were three loud smacking noises.

Red handprints appeared on all three boys' cheeks.

"Ow!" Sirius said, rubbing his cheek. "Merlin, Evans. We were just playing around. Why do you _always _have to be so serious?"

"BECAUSE _YOU _NEVER ARE, SIRIUS BLACK." Lily shrieked, Marlene had to hold her back.

_**I might have laughed at that if Lily wasn't so furious.**_

After a few moments of struggling, Audrey and Marlene had finally gotten Lily to turn away and walk with them back to the common room.


	13. Chapter 13

Agh, I meant to get this out on Friday but I kept getting these errors on my account every time I would try to upload. I'm working on Chapter 14 right now.

Thanks for the reviews, SuperNovaWriter, Sarah Liz B, Weasleytwinslover87, Kankananime123, and JulesDragonlady!

CHAPTER 13

**_Just as monumental as my first encounter with her, my first lesson with Hisoka was just the same. _**

"You what?" Audrey said crossly, staring at the geisha.

"Oh please, you're beyond ready." Hisoka said, waving an impatient hand.

"You didn't even ask me!" Audrey exclaimed.

_**Hisoka had conveniently signed me up for my first competition…without telling me.**_

"Well, I asked your parents, your grandfather, and even your Uncle Ivan had something to say…he was quite bizarre." Hisoka replied, gliding around the room for a moment.

Audrey snorted.

"Don't snort, it makes you sound like a man." Hisoka said.

"I only snorted because my great Uncle is in love with your playing. This is probably why he was so bizarre." Audrey pointed out.

"Ah." She replied. "Well anyway, you're more ready then you think you are. The junior division's repertoire is from Bach's Cello Suites and then a choice of your own for finals."

"And when is this?" Audrey said, eyeing her nervously.

"The end of November, it's in London on a Friday night. I received permission from Albus and everything." Hisoka beamed.

_**Though she would never admit it publicly to me until I was older, I always knew Hisoka and Albus had something. It was obvious from day one.**_

"Let's do some runs then." She said, picking up her instrument.

_**My lessons were switched to twice a week, fitting around the nights Marlene and I would go to dance. We hadn't really run into many problems as first years at the school, until one night in October.**_

Marlene, Audrey, and Sarah, a girl in their year from Hufflepuff left their dance class in the East wing of the school.

"Merlin." said Sarah, wiping the sweat from her brow. "I hate 2/4 jigs."

"I know." Marlene groaned. "My legs are on fire!"

"I honestly think she was trying to kill us." Audrey said, stretching her dance shirt for a moment.

"What are we doing on Friday?" Sarah asked.

"Modern." said Marlene. "Thank god…I can't do another 2/4 in one week, I just cant."

Audrey was about to speak up, when they heard a weird grunting noise from around the corner as they were walking in the same direction. Before they could turn around, they saw them.

Two large mountain trolls were standing, stupidly of course, in the hallway.

Sarah's eyes widened, she didn't have time to say anything before one of the trolls grunted and threw its club in their direction. The three scattered.

"Come to Hogwarts, they say…" said Marlene, through gritted teeth. "…safe environment, they say…"

Down at the other end of the hallway, they heard familiar voices and laughter.

Marlene, Sarah, and Audrey were hiding behind two suits of armor. The trolls couldn't figure out where they went and began to grunt.

Audrey for some reason, understood them.

"_Where they go?" _One asked.

"_I dunno." _said the other.

"_I hungry." _said the first.

_**I have no idea how I understood what they were saying…I was horrified at the time. The three of us were so small compared to the twelve foot trolls.**_

Audrey saw four pairs of feet come around the corridor; she looked up to find Peter, Remus, Sirius, and James. They wore the same expressions that the girls had worn earlier. Peter was making incoherent noises of fear, Remus elbowed him in the stomach.

"What the bloody-" James said out loud but didn't have time to finish his sentence, one of the trolls threw its club at him and it knocked him backwards.

Marlene looked down at Audrey; she was on the floor behind the armor while the other two stood. She looked as though she were calculating.

Audrey caught her eye, and they both said simultaneously.

"He deserves it."

Out of the three boys that were still visible, Remus seemed to be the only one keeping his cool.

_**From the moment I met Remus, I knew there was something about him…something I couldn't place.**_

The trolls were advancing on the three, Sirius looked ready as did Remus. Peter was cowering against the wall…not surprising.

"We have to do something." said Audrey. "They're going to be torn to bits."

"A diversion perhaps?" Marlene supplied.

"I have an idea!" said Sarah. "Audrey, go get the club if you can, try to pick it up or even levitate it. Marlene and I are going to shoot some sparks from our wands towards the windows, and when I give you the signal, aim it at them."

Audrey nodded, army crawling her way to the club nearby.

_**It wasn't difficult picking the club up without magic, but it was to explain to Marlene and Sarah how I managed to have enough strength to pick it up…**_

"NOW" screamed Sarah, as she and Marlene both sent sparks in the direction of the two open windows in the hallway.

Audrey swung the club around a few times then chucked it, it soared in the air and hit the first troll right in the head. He swayed for a moment, and then knocked into his friend. The two fell out of the window…

_THUD._

_THUD._

Sirius Black stood at the other end of the hallway gaping. Audrey laughed.

"Where did you even come from?" Peter squeaked.

"We encountered the trolls a few minutes before you did." replied Marlene. "We ended up having to hide behind that suit of armor!"

Sirius was still gaping like a fish, James who had just managed now to finally catch the breath that had been knocked out of him, stood up, walked over, and closed Sirius' mouth.

"Brilliant." said James. "I honestly would have never expected you three _daisies_ to be able to take down two mountain trolls."

"Says the one who got a club to the gut." retorted Audrey.

James was about to reply, but they all froze, hearing heavy footsteps coming.

Sarah had found a hidden door behind a tapestry, opened it quickly and ushered the others inside.

They waited silently in the dim lit room, listening to what was going on outside.

"How do you think they got into the school, Albus?" said the voice of Professor McGonagall.

The six Gryffindors in the secret room exchanged glances, wide eyed.

"They're dead!" said a voice from the outside of the castle; it sounded a lot like the gamekeeper, Hagrid.

"But who would take on two mountain trolls?" asked Horace Slughorn.

"I do not know, Horace. But whoever did, was very lucky they were not injured. You should go check your houses, make sure the students are safe."

As if their eyes could get any wider, the seven first years all stared at each other.

"We are going to get in so much trouble." Marlene mouthed, worried.

"_You_ won't." Sirius pointed out, cleverly. "You three were at dance class."

"But we should have been back at our common rooms by now." said Audrey, biting her lip.

"Say you saw the trolls and we scared so you took a detour, and got lost…being first years and all." chimed in James.

"James Potter has a good idea for once; Merlin must be coming back from the dead!" Marlene said sarcastically.

James grinned.

They waited for a few minutes, to make sure the hall was completely silent. The boys shoved the girls towards the door lightly.

"Wait!" Audrey hissed. "What about you four?"

"We've got it worked out." said Sirius, non-chalant.

"Yeah, we'll be fine. Just get your pretty-selves back to the common rooms." James said, still pushing them towards the doors.

As the girls walked down the hallway, Sirius poked his head out of the tapestry and called.

"And feel free to wear those dance shorts more often!"

Marlene flipped him off.

Sirius poked his head back into the secret room and exclaimed excitedly. "I think they like us!"

"What's not to like?" James grinned proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Now the real question is." said Sirius, beginning to pace. "How the bloody hell do we get back without being seen?"

Remus slapped his palm to his forehead.


	14. Chapter 14

Happy 4th of July to my American readers!

Thanks for the review, Weasleytwinslover87! :]

Save the unicorns...review.

CHAPTER 14

"Did you really battle two mountain trolls?" said Lily, shoving Audrey into a corner of the hallway during their free period. Severus was there as well.

"She what?" Severus said, looking at Lily horrified.

"Shh!" Audrey said, giving the two a look. There were a few passersby in the hallway.

Audrey pushed her two friends into an empty classroom and made sure the door was closed.

"What on earth were you thinking? Going looking for those trolls…" Severus exclaimed, wide eyed. "Audrey, you could have been killed!"

Audrey held up a hand for silence.

"I didn't go looking for them, Sev. Marlene, Sarah McMillan, and I were on our way back from the dance studio and we rounded the hallway and there they were. One of them threw a club at us and we hid behind two suits of armor…then…" Audrey stopped, debating on whether she should mention to her two companions who had shown up next. Severus and Lily weren't exactly fond of James and his gang.

"Then?" Severus said, his eyes narrowing slightly. Lily crossed her arms.

"Then Potter and his gang of morons showed up, James was clubbed in the stomach…didn't see him for a while after that. Peter naturally cowered in the corner-" The three rolled their eyes at the same time. "Sirius stood there like an idiot, and Remus, being the only intelligent one was calm and looked as though he was calculating something…"

Audrey went on, explaining how they killed the trolls.

"Remus is the only smart one out of the group, by far. I don't understand how he can tolerate them…especially Sirius." said Lily.

"Don't remind me." Audrey groaned. "He of course made some snide comment about our dance shorts when we were heading back to the common room."

Severus rolled his eyes; Sirius was indeed a typical Black. He thought that he could woo any girl with his looks, and thought he could get away with some of the degenerate comments he made.

Lily looked at her watch, and then looked at her two friends.

"It's nearly half past; we should get to Slughorn's."

The other two nodded and the three exited the classroom.

Though Audrey dreaded potions class with the Slytherin first years, it wasn't nearly as bad with Severus there. The only issue they had always run into was James and Sirius being together in class, as they were in every class.

_**It was as if Severus was their constant target. He had done nothing wrong, nothing. It was a petty war started by a pitiful, age old, argument about the school houses. I wasn't sure why it really mattered…but having no immediate family attend Hogwarts I did not understand the rivalries within the school at all…**_

Audrey, Lily, and Marlene always sat in the front of the class, while James, Sirius, and Peter sat in the back. Remus chose to sit in the middle.

"Alright gang! We are switching up the partners today…everyone up!" Professor Slughorn announced excitedly.

The chairs scraped the floors as everyone bustled up from their seats and filed to the sides of the rooms. Sirius slyly made his way toward Audrey, as James had to Lily.

Lily had yet to see James, but Audrey saw Sirius with ease.

She exchanged a glance with Severus across the room; he was glaring at Sirius, right behind Audrey's shoulder.

"I know." Audrey mouthed, rolling her eyes.

Professor Slughorn began calling out names in pairs, Gryffindors with Gryffindors, Gryffindors with Slytherins, Slytherins with Slytherins.

"…Dalio, Snape."

Audrey grinned at Severus, relieved. She could hear Sirius curse under his breath, barely audible.

Severus whispered in her ear, looking to the left.

"Look who it is."

Audrey looked to the left and noticed who was sitting next to her, Lily Evans with her partner.

"Oh!" groaned Audrey. "Poor Lils."

_**Poor Lily was stuck with Sirius…though I was quite grateful at the time it wasn't I who was stuck with Sirius.**_

**...You act like that's a good thing.**

Severus and Audrey had finished rather quickly, and were the first in the class to get their potion to a deep purple. Slughorn boomed about the class, boasting the two's work for a good ten minutes.

"And this!" Slughorn pointed to their cauldron. "This proves my point that a cunning Slytherin and a clever Gryffindor can work together _in harmony_, and create a draught easily." Many of the students around the classroom, Gryffindor and Slytherin alike, rolled their eyes. Let's face it; the houses would forever be at war.

Sirius and James were making faces at each other. Lily smacked Sirius' arm, she was doing most of the work from what Audrey could see. Marlene and Remus were the next to finish their potion.

"Now what, Sev?"

"I'm not sure, Audrey." Severus said, looking around the classroom.

"Wanna play _Guess Who's Cauldron is Going to Blow Up_?" Audrey asked.

"I've never even heard of that game." Severus retorted.

"Oh, because I just made it up five seconds ago." Audrey grinned. "And I'm going to guess, Goyle's." She pointed to a thick Slytherin across the room.

Surely enough, five minutes later Goyle's cauldron blew up. Several students in the vicinity had shrinking draught splashed on them, including Sirius and James. Lily had been smart enough to shield herself with a book quickly.

James' nose began to shrink, and Sirius' lips began to shrink.

Severus, Lily, and Audrey exchanged looks and burst into silent laughter. Severus had to keep his sleeve over his mouth, Audrey bit her hand, and Lily was laughing so hard that tears were falling from her green eyes.

"Professor? Perhaps you shouldn't give Sirius any antidote. I think we all like him better this way." Audrey piped up. Sirius shot her a glare; she began to laugh once more.

**I swear, every time she laughed I melted. Even if it was at my expense.**

Severus gave Audrey a look.

"What?" She asked.

"Did you?" He asked.

Audrey shook her head. "No, I didn't put anything in their cauldron. What do I look like? One of them?" Audrey jerked her head towards James Potter.

"Then how?" Severus asked.

"A good guess, Goyle's not the brightest wand in the bunch." Audrey supplied.

Severus gave her a skeptical look and replied. "Neither is Mulciber over there, he's a second year in a first year potions class. Why not pick him?"

"I don't know, Severus." Audrey replied thoughtfully. "I just saw it."

"You _saw_?" Severus whispered, looking around to make sure no one else could hear.

"Yes, it's hereditary." Audrey said, looking at Severus as if he had five heads. Why was it so abnormal?

"Not many people have that gift, Audrey." Severus said, reading her expression.

_**I did not realize that it was an uncommon thing to have visions for human beings. A lot of banshees, centaurs, and goblins had visions, according to my mother.**_

Audrey blushed and said. "I didn't know that, Severus."

_**Since that night back in October with the trolls, James and Sirius had been significantly kinder to Marlene and I. We were skeptical of them for quite some time, as we had quickly learned that those two could not be **__completely __**trusted.**_ _**Of course from down the table, Sirius and James had seen us talking…**_

_**After class, they decided to confront me about it.**_

"Audrey!" said James, trying to catch up with the girl. She was walking with Marlene and Lily out to the greenhouses for Herbology.

"Yes?" She turned around, now walking backwards.

"Stop, come here." James replied, crossing his arms. He was flanked by Sirius and Remus, Peter stood off somewhere to the side as usual.

Audrey sighed, told Lily and Marlene that she'd meet them in the greenhouse and strode over to the four boys.

"Well?" Audrey asked, her free hand resting on her hips.

"Don't say _well _with so much sass, Missy!" Sirius said in an authoritative tone, wagging his finger.

Audrey gave Sirius a funny look, as well as James and Remus. Sirius put down his finger and shut up.

"Anyway…" James said, after an awkward pause. "We would like to address something."

Audrey raised an eyebrow.

"You need to stop talking to Snivellus." James said, in a fatherly tone.

"Excuse me?" Audrey replied, peeved.

"You heard him." Sirius said. "Snivellus is into all that Dark Arts nonsense. Plus I'm sure he's an _awful_ kisser."

Audrey was taken aback and then said became angry. "First of all…"

She began to talk towards the boys, her eyes narrowing. "His name is _Severus_, he is my _friend_, and nothing more."

"Second…" She drew closer, doing her best to stay fierce but not reveal her powers.

"I hang out with Severus quite often; he's not into that rubbish."

"Thirdly…" She was now in their faces, her eyes flashed red for a moment but she blinked quickly to clear it up. "_You _are not my parents, you do not know me, or where I am from. You have no control over who I talk to, and who I associate with."

She turned on her heel quickly and was about to walk out of the castle when Sirius called. "Well, love. We're from your house, your temporary family. And I'm sure your father and your grandfather wouldn't approve of _Snivellus _either."

Audrey turned once more.

"Do you want to know what my grandfather would say?"

James, Peter, and Remus stood back, not wanting to challenge the girl.

"He's crazy." Peter whispered to the other two. "Why is he challenging her?"

"Because he's mad about her." replied James. "He's been crazy about her since the moment we walked in on her compartment."

Remus nodded in agreement.

"Sure." Sirius replied to her, his eyes danced.

**I learned that day that I really enjoyed getting her angry, because it broke that elegant façade of hers…Also, I just really hated Snivellus.**

"He would say _'Audrey, why are you talking to such fools who have nothing better to do with their time but insult your friends?'_" Audrey said, her Russian accent coming through a bit.

"And by _fools_." She said, her English accent coming through once more. "I mean you and James, not Remus or Peter. They're obviously the kinder, more intelligent of the group."

And with that, she turned on her heel once more and strode from the castle to the greenhouses. When the entrance hall door slammed shut, James turned to his three friends.

"Did you see her eyes go red?"

The other three nodded.

"Good…I thought I was seeing things." James replied. "I wonder what that's all about."

"I don't know…but we will find out, mate." Sirius had a mischievous glint in his eye.

The boys followed; after all, they did have class together. Remus was silently calculating things while his other three friends were chattering away. Audrey was different, just like him…but what was she?


	15. Chapter 15

Oh wow…it's been nearly a week. Sorry, I've been a bit busy, and a little down lately.

But I've got chapter 16 written as well, I may or may not publish it tonight.

Many thanks for the reviews, Weasleytwinslover87, Sarah Liz B, and Madmad237!

A review would be nice, I've had a pretty crummy last few days and I'm watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix…Sirius… D':

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, ONLY THE CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS A GODDESS.**

CHATPER 15

_**The first two months of term flew by quickly, and before I knew it November had come. The castle was now chilly, and coming out of the dance studio in the evening had made it feel so much colder.**_

"Agh!" Marlene groaned, as she had exited the studio. Audrey and Sarah watched from inside the warm studio.

"I'm going to assume its cold…" Sarah said, laughing for a moment as Marlene came back into the studio cursing furiously.

Audrey pulled on sweatpants over her dance shorts as the other two did. They finally left the studio, still shivering even though being bundled up.

"I can't wait until it gets warm again." Audrey said, rubbing her hands together and shivering.

"Me neither." said Marlene, pulling her sweatshirt closer to herself.

_**When Marlene and I returned to the common room that evening, as if on cue, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were the only ones left in the common room.**_

"What are you gits still doing down here?" Marlene spat, annoyed at them. Sirius and James had decided to turn all of her school notebooks black. She had lost all of her homework.

"Just studying." James cooed, Marlene glared daggers at him.

"I highly doubt that." Audrey said calmly. "I'd say the only one studying is Remus…maybe Peter too, but I can't be certain."

Remus gave Audrey a small smile; she had so much faith in him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius said, looking offended.

"It means you're a moron, Sirius. Audrey is just too nice to say so." Marlene hissed, making her way past the boys and walking up the dormitory staircase.

"What's _her_ problem?" Sirius snorted, after he was sure Marlene was out of earshot.

"I don't know, Sirius." Audrey said, in mock thoughtfulness. "Perhaps it's because you and James turned all of her notebooks black and she lost all of her homework?"

"Perhaps, my dear lady." Sirius replied in an airy voice, stroking his chin. James and Peter were also wearing looks of mock intellectualness.

Audrey sighed, shaking her head and bid them all good night.

Omi, Audrey's tiny owl, sat on her bed with a package tied to her leg hooting excitedly. Audrey laughed.

"Omi! You carried a big package?"

The owl hooted even more and began to fly in tiny circles just over the bed.

"Alright, alright!" Audrey whispered. "Quiet down before you wake everyone else up."

The owl landed on the bed, his chest puffed out. He looked proud as Audrey untied the parcel, she read the small piece of folded parchment tied onto the brown parcel.

_I figured you might need this for the competition.  
><em>_Good luck._

She ripped off the brown paper to find a black bundled object. When she unfurled it, she first thought it was a cloak, and then she saw that it was a strapless black floor length dress.

It was a casual dress, but on the top and waistline it had a triangular beaded pattern.

_**The note bore no signature and I had no idea who would send me a dress, but whoever the sender was, they were right…I did need something to wear. **__**November flew by just as quickly as September and October, and before I knew it I was slipping on my dress and getting ready for the competition.**_

Audrey put on a pair of simple earrings, two small chains dangling two tiny brown feathers each. She ruffled her hair a bit, grabbed her shoes and cello then walked downstairs.

It was seven, and everyone was either still at dinner, in their beds, or at the library studying. The common room was deserted, or so Audrey thought…

"Where are you going, Dalio?" James Potter shot up from behind one of the arm chairs. Sirius shot up from the other.

"I have a competition tonight." Audrey said simply, motioning to her cello and then making for the portrait hole.

"Oh really?" Sirius said in a false motherly tone, crossing his arms. "How do we know you're not going to cause trouble?"

"Or go out with a boy!" James said in a womanly voice. Audrey burst into laughter.

"I'm not doing either of those things, _mother_." Audrey giggled. "I'll be back later tonight."

And with that she climbed through the portrait hole and began to walk to the west wing, barefoot. She had a long way to walk, and didn't feel like wearing her heels just yet.

She was in for quite a surprise when she knocked on the door of Hisoka's guest quarters. She was one of a few music teachers that stayed in the school every so often, but Audrey was sure she stayed there for other reasons as well…such as the Headmaster.

"Ahh, Audrey. I see you're on time." said Hisoka, Audrey gaped.

_**She had bewitched herself to look sixty years older, and though she looked good for a fake eighty year old woman it was quite a shock to me.**_

"Hisoka…" Audrey began, staring at her.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, realizing how awkward this was. "I charm myself to look older when I appear in front of muggles. Technically, I'm supposed to be dead, so I pose as my '_daughter' _Hisoka Emi."

"Ahhh." Audrey said, understanding. "You are so great to name your 'daughter' after yourself?"

Hisoka giggled. "Yes, it was just easier. My '_granddaughter' _will have a different name."

"Alright then." Audrey grinned.

"I see you've found something to wear." Hisoka said, motioning to the dress.

Audrey nodded. "I don't know who sent it to me though…"

"Can you think of no one?" Hisoka asked, a mysterious glint in her eye.

"You?" Audrey asked.

Hisoka shook her head and replied. "Not I."

"Do you know who did then?" Audrey asked.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." Hisoka said, mysteriously. "Let's go, we need to register and you need to warm up."

She extended her arm to Audrey.

"I thought we can't apparate in our out of Hogwarts?"

"I have special privileges." said Hisoka.

They dissapparated to an alleyway in London and began to walk to Wilton's Music Hall, where the competition was being held. She looked at the check-in list, noticing Hisoka had checked off a name that wasn't hers.

"_Ayla David"_

_**Hisoka had explained to me quietly that it was safer and easier for me to go under a different alias while performing. At first, I was a little put off by this. I had thought that going out in the real world would let me leave the sheltering that my family had put around me. The sheltering which made me feel suffocated from time to time. I reasoned that it was good to have a stage name; it was a new life…a different life…**_

After going through the check in process, Audrey quickly visited the lavatory.

She checked herself in the mirror, it wasn't a beauty competition, but she knew the judges were also looking for beauty. It was sad that it wasn't only about the sounds.

"Hello!" said a voice.

Audrey turned to her right, noticing there was another girl her age in the room. She had brilliant violet eyes and long, dark, brown hair.

"Hi…" Audrey replied, trying to sound friendly although she wasn't sure of what to make of the other girl. She was positive she was a muggle and had never met an actual muggle before, or talked to one for more than a second.

"Are you new? I've never seen you at this competition." said the girl, wearing a smile. Her eyes appeared kind, but Audrey sensed something different.

"No, this is my first year." Audrey replied casually. "Is this your first?"

The girl shook her head and replied. "I've been here for the last few years, my name is Angeline Hayes. I'm sure you've heard of me."

_**Her voice was very airy, and of course I just realized that is how she always spoke. There are two types of airy voices, one is a sophisticated, gentle voice and the other is an arrogant, cruel one. They have two completely distinguishable tones, though many cannot tell right away.**_

"No, I haven't." Audrey said curtly.

"I've won this competition for the last three years." Angeline said, seeing if that would jog the girl's memory.

"I'm not from around here." Audrey replied.

"Ah yes." Angeline replied, her eyes narrowing for a moment. "I can tell now, you have a slight accent."

_**Why did everyone always say that?**_

__**Because it's true.**

"Well, I'm going to go warm up. It was nice meeting you, Angeline." Audrey said, giving the girl a quick glance and then leaving.

_**Every cellist in the competition had their own private space to warm up, and as I was warming up I had explained to Hisoka what had happened in the lavatory. For the first time, I had noticed a look of annoyance pass over her usually calm features. She didn't say much on the topic until afterwards. When I had finished warming up, we went to stage right and waited. Everyone had to enter stage right and exit stage left, and it had shocked me at the time that there were only twenty of us. We had to play the same selections, which was probably a tad bit redundant by the end of the competition for the judges. As much as I would have loved to hear the others, I tuned them all before my performance out; I didn't want my vision of what I was going to play to be distorted in any way.**_

_**As I have told you before, I do not know of time when I am playing. The selections we had to play for the competition totaled to about twenty six minutes, but to me it had only felt like seconds. **_

_**A half hour after my performance, were the results.**_

The top ten out of twenty were called back to the stage around ten thirty, Audrey was surpised to be one of them.

"I don't honestly understand how you're surprised." Hisoka whispered in her ear, pushing her towards the other competitors. Audrey noticed Angeline was among them.

"Third place, goes to Sheldon Washly."

"Second…" The reader paused, a shocked look forming on his features. "Goes to Angeline Hayes, of London."

Audrey heard a few gasps from the other contestants, and even some of the instructors in the room.

_**I guess they knew who she was…I must have been the only one who didn't.**_

Audrey watched as Angeline quickly walked up to the platform and accepted her trophy in a confused manner. When she turned away from the reader and the judges, everyone could see her scowl.

"There must have been a mistake." Angeline's teacher whispered to her, just as arrogant as she was.

"First place, Ayla David of St. Petersburg."

_**Either I had forgotten that I had a stage name, or I was simply in shock…a little of both perhaps.**_

Audrey strode up to the platform, thanked the reader, and accepted the trophy. After some applause which she really wasn't expecting, Audrey walked back towards the other contestants. Many had told her good job, and right on.

"No one here likes her." Said a girl named Elizabeth, she whispered in a low voice.

"I can see why." Audrey replied, they were packing up their instruments next to each other. "She wasn't very polite in the lavatory when I met her."

"She puts on this act, that she's really sweet and sympathetic. Then she tries to rip your heart out of your body and intimidate you." Elizabeth said quietly, looking around. "Anyway, I've got to catch the train, it was nice meeting you. Hope to see you at the next competition."

"Nice meeting you too." Audrey said.

_**After Elizabeth had departed, Angeline gave me an icy congratulation and stormed from the building. Hisoka and I returned to the school around eleven thirty, she ushered me into her quarters for a quick word.**_

"I am very proud of you, Audrey." Hisoka grinned, waving her wand and making herself normal once more.

"Thank you." Audrey bowed to Hisoka, a sign of respect.

"You should get off to bed." Hisoka said, taking down her bun and shaking her hair out. "We'll discuss the competition further in the morning."

Audrey nodded, and bid her a good night.


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks for the review, Madmad237!

…Halfway done with the next chapter. I've finally figured out how I'm going to format these, it'll make the story go a bit faster. Because I know we're all waiting for the same thing… ;]

Like with my first story, there are a few key scenes that the entire plot is formed around, and I've been writing ahead and writing those lately.

HEY! Hey you! Yeah, you! No…not you, the one in the back. Yeah, you….Review? PLEASE?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 16

She walked through the West wing and up a few sets of stairs before running into Filch, the caretaker who had always had an out for the students.

"Oi! What are you doing?" He screeched, charging towards her.

"Going back to my dormitory, and going to bed." Audrey replied in a simple manner, after all, it was the truth.

"Are you sassing me?" Filch grumbled.

"No, I'm telling you the truth." Audrey replied, in mock innocence.

"STOP SASSING ME." Filch hissed.

"Argus!" A familiar voice echoed down the hallway.

Albus Dumbledore appeared seconds later, in his night clothes with his wand lit.

"Headmaster, this student is out of bed and giving me sass!" The caretaker grumbled.

"Miss Dalio is one of our music students that travels often, Argus. She was at a competition, and just returned. I assure you that she is not breaking any rules, or giving you sass." Albus said calmly.

Filch walked away, muttering.

"Thank you, Headmaster." Audrey said, giving him a smile.

"It is only the truth, Miss Dalio." Albus replied, his eyes twinkling. "You should probably get to bed, my dear."

Audrey nodded, and the two set off in different directions.

_**I really shouldn't have been surprised when I walked into the common room…**_

"AGH!" Audrey yelled as a bunch of spider webs wrapped around her as soon as she climbed through the portrait hole. She whipped out her wand, quickly singeing them off.

She heard familiar laughter.

"James, Sirius." Audrey hissed, slightly peeved.

"Sorry, Dalio." James sniggered. "We really didn't mean for that to hit you, we were waiting for someone else."

Audrey crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation.

"We were waiting to test it on Frank; he snuck out of the common room again." Sirius said, a mischievous glint in his eyes has he gracefully loped upward from the couch and strode towards Audrey.

_**I wasn't honestly sure what he was doing, it was also the first time I noticed how he walked. I didn't know what to make of him…I still don't.**_

Sirius was inches from her face, and she was ready to hit him if she had to. He ran one of his hands through her hair.

**Oh the things I **_wanted_** to do!**

"You had some spider webs still in your hair." Sirius said, shaking the webs off of his hand.

"Thanks." Audrey replied, a little weirded out by Sirius' behavior. "Well gents, I'll see you both in the morning."

"Wait!" James said, lifting himself up from the couch. "How did you do at that competition thing?"

Audrey held up her trophy.

"First place!" Sirius exclaimed.

"_Fancy_." James chimed in, looking at the trophy.

"Thanks…" Audrey was still weirded out.

"Let the lady go to bed, James." Sirius elbowed him; James returned with a funny look.

Audrey bid them a final good night and ascended the staircase.

_**On my way upstairs, of course I heard those two bickering like an old married couple. I didn't bother listening or even trying to; it was probably about something stupid.**_

James hit Sirius with a pillow.

"What was that all about?" He demanded.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"You're _whipped_, mate. You're whipped and she shows no interest." James said, giving Sirius and all knowing look.

"I am not!" Sirius protested.

…**Oh but I was, from the moment I first saw her. That's bloody cliché right there, inside this prankster is a romantic cliché. But I couldn't just admit that to my best friend. It's a male thing.**

James gave him a look that said. _'I know you're lying.'_

**I was so enthralled by her that I had completely forgotten to get Frank Longbottom on his way through the portrait hole some twenty minutes later. James wasn't pleased, the spell didn't have as much of an affect with only one caster. We were still working out the kinks at that time…**

As the two boys made their way up the staircase, James whispered. "That Dalio is quite a distraction for you, mate. And I've seen you _ogle_ the girls around here, but not like _her_."

Sirius ignored James as he pulled open his bed curtains and collapsed onto his four poster.

_**As soon as December came, so did the snow…and Hisoka was now taking our lessons in a different direction from the standard playing and rehearsing. She worked with me on minute things, such as movements. The defense lessons I had been having with Albus all year were getting more challenging as the weeks went by, and I found myself shocked at what I was even capable of. I had been moving rocks all of my life, but I had never really given it any thought that I could simply lift a boulder using no strength, and kill another living being with it. I had never fathomed that before, and the thought scared me.**_

Audrey returned to the Gryffindor common room, frost bitten, after a lesson outside in the Forbidden forest with the Headmaster.

"Oi, Dalio!"

Audrey turned, seeing James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter sitting on the couches. She raised an eyebrow and replied. "Yes?"

"Are you staying for the holidays, Audrey?" Remus asked, a huge grin on his face, as well as James'. Sirius looked shy for once.

Audrey shook her head. "No, I'm spending it with my family."

"Going to _Russia_?" James asked in a mock Russian accent.

"_No, you filthy pig. I'll be in England."_ Audrey replied in Russian, a huge mischievous grin taking over her features.

James wore a perplexed look, Remus looked inquisitive, Sirius was grinning like a fool, and Peter, as always, looked oblivious.

"What did you say?" James asked, dropping the mock accent.

"She said, _'No, you filthy pig. I'll be in England.'_" said Maksim, a second year boy whose parents were from Kansk. Audrey often spoke with him in Russian just for the sake of driving the four boys crazy; they couldn't eavesdrop on her conversations if they couldn't understand.

Remus burst into laughter as Sirius and James both wore identical looks of shock that Audrey had said such a thing to them, even if she was only joking.

**If she wasn't staying at school for Christmas, I didn't feel much initiative to stay either…but I didn't want to go home, I went to my Uncle's of course.**

_**I opted to go home for the Christmas holidays, and I was pleasantly surprised to find my aunts, uncle, cousins, and grandparents at our seemingly tiny cottage in the woods. The holidays felt like seconds to me, and though I had laughed quite a lot though out the first term, I think I laughed more over the holidays with my entire family. So much that it hurt to smile and to breathe.**_

_**I returned to school during January of that year to quite a shock.**_

"Who is that?" Sarah asked, as she and Audrey made their way down the train aisle to find a compartment.

There was a sea of black hair, two people snogging. The girl's hair seemed to be over the boy's shoulders, it was so long.

"Is that…?" Audrey asked.

"No…" Sarah finished, shocked.

"It is…its Sirius!" Audrey exclaimed. "But who is _that_?"

Sarah stood on her tip-toes for a moment. "Ooh! I've seen her before! She's in Ravenclaw, I think her name is Amelia. She's really nice; I was partnered with her a few times in Herbology."

"Is she snorting grated toads?" Sarah asked, disgusted. Audrey shrugged.

_**I wasn't quite sure how I felt at the time, I was elated that I had shaken Sirius Black off of me. But there was a tiny voice inside of me, a tiny voice that I couldn't really discern over everything that was spinning around my head. The tiny voice made my stomach drop, it made me feel terrible.**_

**It's understandable, I am **_terribly_** handsome.**

Audrey and Sarah had finally found a compartment with Maksim, Severus, Lily, and Marlene inside. Before Audrey could even say hello, Sarah burst into the compartment, shut the door and yelled.

"GUESS WHAT WE JUST SAW?" She jumped up and down.

Maksim looked amused, and Severus raised an eyebrow and asked. "What, Badger?"

_**Severus had taken to calling Sarah a badger, after her House. **_

"Sirius Black is dating someone." Sarah squealed.

_**She seemed happier about it then I was…**_

**I don't blame her for being unhappy. I was unhappy **_too_**.**

Maksim snorted and said. "Sarah, why is this of importance to us?"

"Yeah!" Severus said in agreement.

"Because, now he'll leave Audrey alone." Lily exclaimed, piecing it together. Audrey grinned.

"Well that's excellent for you, Audrey. But I doubt he'll leave you alone completely." Severus said, his eyes narrowing.

_**As if on cue, Sirius was banging on our compartment door.**_

Lily slammed her head repeatedly on the window, Severus rolled his eyes, and Marlene looked as though she wanted to kill Sirius.

"Happy New Year, everyone!" Sirius strode into the already crowded compartment, weaseling in between Audrey and Marlene and wrapping his arms around the two.

"I hope everyone had a wonderful break, and we're going to have a splendid year."

Audrey turned to him. "Sirius Black, what are you on? Puffapod seeds?"

"He's probably snorting." Maksim chimed in, wearing a brilliant smile.

Sirius still with his arms around to the two girls, put one of his hands over his heart and wore a shocked expression.

Audrey shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Audreeeeeey!" Sirius whined. "I'm so hurt! I come back to school, trying to be positive and greet my fellow Gryffindors and my _Huffapuffer _over there." He pointed to Sarah. "And you act this way! I thought we were _best_ friends."

He pouted at Audrey.

"_I think he's definitely on something_." Maksim said to Audrey, everyone else looked confused.

_"I believe you're right, Maksim."_ She replied, grinning at the other's confused faces.

"I don't believe someone as smart as Audrey is would want to consort with someone of your intellect, Black." Severus sneered.

"Snivellus!" Sirius exclaimed in mock-surprise. "When did you get here? You been invisible this whole time!"

_**A new year, a new leaf. Not for Sirius Black though…and I resolved this year that I wasn't going to let him insult one of my best friends right in front of me.**_

Audrey gave Marlene a look and they both shoved Sirius off of them with great force.

"We don't take too kindly to you insulting our friends, Sirius." Marlene said, as he got up and strode from the compartment, slamming the door.

Marlene opened it once again, and yelled down the hallway. "SEE YOU AT THE FEAST, JERK!"

Maksim laughed out loud, Severus smirked, and Audrey grinned.

_**I can't lie, it did feel good…**_

_**Really good.**_


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks for the reviews, Kankananime123, Madmad237, and Jovie Black! :]

_Major _transition coming up in the next two chapters, we're moving on people! :D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 17

_**The month of January consisted of learning new things, new spells, new potions, new dances, new defenses. It was rather exhausting, but exciting none the less.**_

During the last week of January, Audrey and Marlene were walking back from the dance studio one evening and found Amelia Dole, Sirius' girlfriend from Ravenclaw, crying in an alcove with her friend.

"Amelia, are you alright?" Marlene asked.

"Sirius broke up with her." Answered Amelia's friend.

"Why?" Audrey asked, alarmed. Sure, she felt terrible for Amelia, but a single Sirius Black wasn't something she wanted.

"I d-d-on't know." Amelia cried, looking up at them. "He j-j-just said that there was someone else."

Audrey and Marlene gave the girl consoling pats on the back.

"Don't worry, every girl in our year in Gryffindor knows he's a git." Audrey reassured.

"Yeah." replied Marlene. "We've got your back."

"Thanks…" Amelia said quietly, giving them a watery smile.

The two Gryffindors set off down the hallway, and not even a few minutes later they spotted a familiar head in the distance. Sirius was snogging another girl.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Audrey yelled, pointing down the hallway.

"WHAT AN ASS!" Marlene said, her mouth open in shock, she flourished her wand, but Audrey gave her a look.

"We'll deal with it later; let's go back to the common room and plan." Audrey said, tugging her arm.

_**The ever so short month of February wasn't as great, it was bitterly cold, and the school was covered in fluffy pink hearts and decorations. The number of snogging teenagers in the area was positively disgusting.**_

"Oh, Merlin." Audrey said, looking up from her book with a revolted facial expression.

"What?" Severus asked, looking up from his book.

Audrey said nothing but pointed to over his shoulder, where Marcus Flint and Evan Rosier were blowing kisses at her.

Severus made a disgusted face that only Audrey could see.

"Do you want to leave?" He asked.

"Yes, please." Audrey said quickly, not shooting another glance at the two third

years. The two quickly packed up their books, and left the library, briskly walking down the corridor.

They of course, passed Sirius Black on the way, with whoever was his new fling at the moment. Audrey decided she didn't want to keep track, Marlene however did for laughs. Lily also made a tally.

Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday that year and the castle was fluttering with romance and grumpy little wizards dressed in diapers delivering valentines.

Fortunately, for the upperclassmen there was a scheduled Hogsmeade visit. But not everyone had left the school, it was rather chilly and there was over a foot of snow on the grounds. Marlene, Lily, Audrey, and Sarah decided to go out and have a snowball fight, they were joined by Remus, James, and Peter.

Marlene paused for a moment.

"What is it?" Audrey asked.

"I don't know if I want them to join our fight." Marlene said thoughtfully, packing some snow in her hand and making a snowball.

"So? We can always do girls against boys. We'll outnumber them by one." Audrey suggested, grinning.

"Wrong." Marlene said flatly. Audrey gave her a confused look as she pointed over Audrey's shoulder. Sirius Black was strutting through the snow.

"Are we having a snowball fight?" Sirius asked excitedly.

"Gents against ladies." Remus grinned.

"Excellent, this'll be easy." Sirius said, rubbing his hands together. Audrey snorted but he didn't hear.

_**The wonderful thing about the snow was the lack of visibility…I could use my powers. And no one would realize it.**_

**Ha, yeah… "No one."  
><strong>**I am no one!**

_**It was rather comical, really. The eight of us, the boys on one side, and the girls on the other, made our way towards each other. Marlene and James drew a line in the snow, a battle line. We all stared at each other, putting on our best fierce faces. Of course, I had been stuck across from Sirius, it was as if fate kept pushing me towards him like a magnet. I was the magnet that didn't want to attach, I'm sure if you don't understand now you will later on. Oh how badly I wanted to lose control of my eyes! I wanted to scare him out of his wits!**_

**I don't fancy that much, because wherever she'd be, I'd be. We were magnets of the same polarity. Without question. She was just rebellious, I was made for her and she was made for me. She just didn't want to admit it.**

Marlene was across from Remus, who was making an odd face, she was trying not to laugh.

Lily was looking at James, calculating what she was going to do to take him down. James however looked as though he was in heaven, Sirius noticed in his peripheral vision and made a mental note to harass him about that later.

"Alright…" James said. "On three…one…two…"

"THREE!" Everyone yelled, turning and running to the opposite sides, snow began to fly.

They had agreed not to use their wands, but they had never specified wandless magic. Audrey giggled, knowing what to do as she waved her hands outward, creating several snow balls, and then with a flick of her hand, she sent them flying.

She laughed out loud as she saw Sirius and Remus dive in opposite directions, hiding behind a makeshift wall of snow they had made. Marlene was army crawling quickly towards their wall, the unsuspecting boys shouted as she destroyed it with a quick kick and went running back to their side.

Sirius yelled out. "Oi that's not fair!"

"Alls fair in love and _war_!" Lily replied, an evil smirk forming on her features.

Of course, a few seconds after Lily had yelled that James came running onto the girls side and tackled her to the ground. In retaliation, Marlene had run to the boys side and was chasing Remus, both pelting each other with snowballs.

Sarah army crawled over to Audrey. "This is madness, they can't man handle us like this!"

"You're right." Audrey nodded. "We're not going to let them."

Sarah flashed her a grin as the two huddled together for a plan. They only had to focus on Peter and Sirius, at least half of the two wouldn't be as hard.

Lily had wiggled out of James' grip and was running away from him, Marlene and Remus had stopped chasing each other as Remus had hidden behind a tree and was pelting snowballs at her.

Sirius and Peter were huddled together, just like the two remaining girls.

"What do we do?" Peter squeaked.

"I dunno…" Sirius said thoughtfully. "We'll improvise."

Peter looked nervous, but nodded.

Sarah and Audrey charged the two boys, Peter cowered as Sarah pelted him with snowballs but Sirius quickly dove out of Audrey's way, she didn't slip though. She detected his movements quickly, an evil grin forming on her features. He was sitting up on the ground, quickly backing away. Sirius swept out one leg in an attempt to trip her but she jumped over it quickly. He laughed.

"Nice to see the little musician isn't as prim and proper as everyone thought she was." Sirius grinned.

"Oh I still am, I've just got more wit then most "prim and proper" girls have." Audrey replied, doing air quotations.

"Ahh." Sirius said, still on the ground. He acted quick, bolted up and tackled her to the ground. He was a few centimeters from her face, a mischievous smirk tracing along his features.

Audrey's eyes went white for a moment, she registered this quickly and turned her head away.

"What was _that_?" Sirius asked, cocking his head trying to look at her eyes. She turned back to him, her irises now present once more.

"What was what?" She asked, lightly shoving him off.

"OI! Come on! They're serving lunch and I'm starving!" James called, as the others murmured in agreement and set off towards the castle. Audrey got up and followed, followed by a perplexed Sirius.


	18. Chapter 18

Thanks for the reviews, Madmad237, and a11one1bird1lucia! :]

Transition chapter….part one. ;]

Me thinks it'd be mighty nice of you to click the link that says _review _and write something kind. :P

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 18

_**The end of year came crashing into us at great speed, before any of us knew it, exams were upon us. The sun was out and we were all stuck inside, studying and panicking…Well, at least Lily, Marlene, Sarah, Severus, Maksim, Remus and I were. The other three…I cannot say.**_

Audrey sighed, looking out the window of the library. The trees were all in bloom, it was sunny and warm. There was a light breeze blowing through the grounds, the weather was just perfect.

"Earth to Audrey!" Severus said, waving a hand in front of his friends face. Audrey snapped out of her trance.

"Sorry, Sev…" She said, giving him a look.

"Audrey, you have to focus. Once these last two exams are over you can go out and fly."

_**Severus and Lily had figured me out a few months prior, they were truly the smartest in our year. Though my father had embedded into my head that being found out was as if I was ending my life, Severus was incredibly understanding.**_

_Audrey had set off down the cold corridor, pulling her robes closed and shivering. She had just had a two hour long lesson with Hisoka and her fingers felt raw._

"'_Ello Poppet." called a voice down the corridor._

_**That voice made my stomach drop…I shouldn't have been nervous, I could have killed him instantly. But there was something about him…something I didn't place until years later.**_

_Audrey turned on her heel to see Marcus Flint, the third year that kept blowing kisses to her all throughout February. She was creeped out by him, he would follow her around the hallways the entire week before Valentines day. She had taken to walking with Remus and Maksim to most of her classes, because Severus had told her one day that Marcus would always ask him about her._

_Marcus now stood at the opposite end of the hallway, he would be a distant blur to a human but her eyes focused on him with incredible clarity._

_**I should have just turned and ran, but I was so foolish.**_

"_What do you want, Marcus?" Audrey called._

"_You." He grinned, his teeth were disgusting. Audrey shivered, and it wasn't because of the breeze._

_Before Audrey could react he blasted her into a wall, she shook her head. Was he serious?_

_Audrey was about to flourish her wand when Marcus was knocked off to the side by a curse, Severus Snape rounded the corner._

"_Oh thank merlin." She mumbled, getting up and rubbing her head. She felt dizzy._

_Severus was in the middle of darting over to her when someone had hexed him out of the way. Audrey turned to see Evan Rosier on her side of the hallway. Marcus was getting up from the rubble, dusting himself off._

"_I thought I told you to stay out of the way, Snape." Marcus hissed, annoyed._

_Severus said nothing but glared, helping Audrey up. At that moment, Evan sent a streak of purple flames straight at Severus. The flames engulfed him for a moment, and then he was on the ground, bleeding profusely._

_Audrey tried every counter curse she could think of with no avail, and the two boys were closing in on her._

_She then heard her father's voice in her head._

"Remember Audrina, should there be danger…it is not illegal to use your powers…"

_Though her family had forbid her from showing her powers, this was an emergency. Severus was going to bleed to death and Audrey could be violated._

_She decided to be subtle, the ground began to tremor. Suits of armor began to run from the shaking hallway._

…_**okay, maybe a tremor wasn't exactly subtle to the average witch or wizard. But in my family, it was quite subtle.**_

_Marcus and Evan began to stumble around, tripping over each other. They looked panicked, and Audrey could see why. One of the pillars was crumbling, the stone was falling. She just had to wait long enough for…_

Clunk…

Clunk.

_Both boys were unconscious._

_**Well…that wasn't exactly what I was waiting for but it was all good to me.**_

_Audrey pulled out her wand quickly, and obliviated their memory of the tremor._

_**The only thing I had been taught outside of school was memory charms, my ever so cautious father worried that if I slipped up I wouldn't have a way to hide anymore.**_

"_Audrey?" said a familiar voice._

_Lily Evans stood at the other side of the hallway, and judging by her face she had seen everything._

"_Lily! We need to get Sev to the hospital wing." Audrey said, kneeling over Severus._

_Lily nodded briskly and waved her wand, managing to conjure a stretcher. "I figure it'd be best not to use your powers out in the open hallway."_

_Audrey turned to Lily wide eyed…how did she know that she could use the wind?_

_Lily seemed to read her mind as they walked. "I know what you are, Audrey. I read all about the earth movers."_

'Of course she read about it.' _Audrey mused to herself._

**_She really was the brightest witch of our age._**

"_Lily, you must keep it a secret." Audrey said gravely._

"_I will." She nodded. "However, we may have to explain it to Severus."_

"_Do you think he saw?" Audrey bit her lip, she was afraid that if Severus found out he would judge her. They got along splendidly and she didn't want to ruin their friendship just as their first year was ending._

"_Severus sees _everything_." Lily replied, as they made it to the hospital wing.  
><em>

Audrey snapped out of her memory and replied. "Sev, you know I can't fly unless it's dark out…hell, I can barley fly here anyway with the number of _nosy _people around this school."

Audrey and Severus exchanged a knowing look, of course they were talking about James Potter's gang.

After their very last exam, potions, Marlene and Audrey threw their notebooks up in the air and set off running down the hallway. Cart wheeling and dancing.

"I don't think I've ever seen them this crazy in my life." Sirius mused. Remus laughed.


	19. Chapter 19

Transition chapter…part 2. ;]

I may publish again later tonight, if I don't and if I'm not an emotional wreck from watching DHp2 I will post on Friday.

Reviews are nice…I'm excited for where this story is about to head. ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 19

_2 years later_.

"Bloody hell, I am never taking that ruddy class again!" Sirius whined, throwing his Divination text book down the staircase.

Audrey laughed and dramatically moved her hands, imitating their Professor. "You obviously don't have _the gift_, Sirius."

_**I loved to torture him about it.**_

"Yes, well not all of us were born _special_." Sirius replied, poking Audrey's nose.

_**Not only had Severus and Lily found out, James, Sirius and Peter did too. Remus had found out before all of them though…**_

_**During a cold fall Friday of my second year, I had a pretty awful day and decided to go out at night and take a walk in the woods. It was incredibly easy to slip out of the castle, I never understood why the boys would complain about getting caught without James' cloak.**_

**Because it was damn well impossible not to get caught without that cloak!**

_As soon as Audrey had hit the last step outside of the castle, she summoned a rock and flew into the forest. She laughed, feeling the rush of wind through her hair. It had only been a few weeks into term and she missed flying already._

_She had stopped safely in the dense forest, not bothering to bring her wand. Who needed one when you could do wandless magic? She lit all ten of her fingertips, and thought to herself. "I bet none of the other second years could do this."_

"_Audrey! What are you doing out so late?" scolded a familiar voice. She turned quickly._

_Firenze, a centaur a few years older then her stood behind her with his arms crossed._

"_I'm just taking a walk, Firenze. I need to clear my head." She replied calmly._

"_Audrey, normally I would be fine with that. But tonight is not safe, it's written in the stars…" Firenze replied, pointing up to the sky._

_Audrey resisted the urge to roll her eyes, though she and the centaurs occasionally had similar visions she thought she would have sensed that it would be a dangerous night. After all, she had sensed two weeks before the first Quidditch match of the year that James would get hit in the arm with a bludger. And she sensed that Sirius would get a months worth of detention for trying to hex Severus into the next millennium. _

"_Audrey, do you not see the moon?" Firenze asked, a hint of panic in his voice._

"_Yes, it's full….but…we don't_ _have any werewolves here." Audrey replied, looking at Firenze with a very puzzled expression._

_Firenze said nothing more, his eyes widened and he galloped off with great speed. Audrey turned to find a werewolf approaching her._

_**I had never been so frightened before, too frightened to move. Where was my head?**_

_The werewolf let out a whine, and slowly approached her. Audrey backed up against a tree, her eyes wide. She let them go red, figuring that most animals knew the color red as a warning signal…if she let them go black the wolf wouldn't see anyway. The forest was too dark._

_She noticed that the wolf was pretty scrawny, and his eyes were incredibly familiar. A light brown, flecked with a hint of green._

_**It was a long shot, and I'm sure that if anyone saw me in the forest they'd think me mad…**_

"_Remus?"_

_The wolf stuck out its tongue and licked her face._

"_Ugh, Remus!" Audrey laughed, a little disgusted but thankful that it was him. It had explained a lot._

"_You know." She said to the wolf. "I had a hunch you were a werewolf…"_

_Remus cocked his head as if to say _"Oh really?"

_Audrey nodded, Remus came closer, he was pointing with a paw at her eyes._

"_You saw my eyes before tonight, didn't you?" Audrey asked._

_The wolf gave a gruff nod, then looked towards the end of the forest, it seemed miles away._

"_You want to go for a walk?" Audrey asked, unsure. The wolf gave an excited howl._

"_I take that for a yes, then." She laughed._

_**I stayed out with Remus the whole night, and when he transformed once more in the morning I had the chance to fully explain to him everything. It felt nice, because I knew from the moment I met him that Remus and I weren't much different. Different species, but similar situations.**_

"It's not Audrey's fault she's special." Remus chimed in, grinning.

"Oh shut it, Remus. You're one of those _special _ones too." Sirius snorted. Sirius laughed.

"Well, now that our final exam is over, I have an announcement!" James said to their group.

"Oh god, what is it now?" Sarah replied, throwing her hair over her shoulder.

"I'm having a get together at my place at the end of August, you're all invited." James grinned. "We've got plenty of room, and a pool."

"I don't know if I could trust James and a pool…" Marlene whispered to Audrey, she nodded in agreement. James could fill the pool with jello, or something worse.

"When do you get back from Russia, Audrey?" James asked.

"I'll be back the second week of August." She grinned.

"Excellent, because Lily told me earlier she wouldn't dare step foot in my house unless you were there." James replied, a smirk forming on his features.

"I can understand why." piped up Sarah. "She's probably worried you'll try to rape her in the lavatory."

"I hadn't thought of that…" James said. "But thanks for the idea, Puffer."

Sarah began to protest, and the group of boys burst into laughter. Audrey shook her head, grabbed Sarah and Marlene's arms and set ahead of the boys.


	20. Chapter 20

Thanks for the reviews, Sarah Liz B! :D

I obviously didn't publish Friday, I was recovering from DHp2. I enjoyed it, despite the fact that there was no Teddy or Victoire in the epilogue. :[

Anyway, I've been writing this for the last three days or so between other things. This was meant to be longer but I guess I'll split it into two or three chapters because I just really wanted to publish something today. I have a job audition Wednesday so my writing the next three days may not be as often.

Review, review, review! I've got exciting things planned. ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 20

_**I spent the first half of the holidays with my parents, slowly going back to the routine life I had had before meeting Hisoka, and before going to Hogwarts. Though I loved having the time with my parents, I was completely miserable. I missed my weekly lessons, and the orchestra rehearsals. I missed wandering the forest with werewolf Remus, and doing magic. Above it all, I missed my friends…**_

_**But summer did have one certain advantage, I would see all of my childhood friends that didn't attend Hogwarts.**_

Audrey stepped into the familiar dance studio only to be tackled to the ground by a squealing mess of blonde and black hair.

"Hello!" Audrey laughed, shoving her two friends, Chantal and Teagan, off of her.

"When did you guys come home?" Audrey exclaimed hugging the two.

"I just came back from France last week." Chantal grinned, Audrey noticed she had gotten taller. Chantal was a veela that attended Beauxbatons.

"I came back two days ago." chirped Teagan, a banshee who had studied at a conservatory strictly for banshees in Finland.

"Nice and warm here, Teag?" Audrey smirked.

"Oh, it's like a sauna compared to Oulu." Teagan laughed.

They had arrived at the studio twenty minutes early to catch up as much as possible before Darcy, their teacher would arrive.

"She's going to work us into the ground you know." Teagan grumbled.

The other two nodded in agreement as their teacher entered the room. After two hours of an intense class, they started to cool down and stretch out. That was when they exchanged information about their year. Teagan had a major crush on a boy around their age from the vampire colony not far from her conservatory. Chantal had been hanging around Audrey's two older cousins, Hans and Peter. The stories she was told about her cousins vaguely reminded her of two Gryffindor boys that she loved, yet hated simultaneously.

When Audrey broke into details about James and Sirius, Chantal laughed.

"I remember you writing to me about those two, judging by your stories I reckon that Sirius bloke fancies you."

Teagan nodded in agreement and said. "He can't do all of that, be so cheeky, and not fancy you."

"He flirts with everything that moves, Teag!" Audrey exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "I _don't _like him."

…_**Well, at least, I **__thought __**I didn't.**_

"Are you still corresponding with that gent from Russia?" Teagan asked suddenly.

"Sven? Of course, but he's one of my best-" Audrey began but Teagan cut her off.

"No! No! Not Sven, I know he's like your brother practically. The boy that's friends with Sven, the one a year older then us."

"Karl?" Audrey cocked her head. Teagan and Chantal nodded excitedly.

_**I had been corresponding with Karl Gregorovitch for a year at that point, we had had an interesting summer and he had asked me towards the end if he could write to me. I think he was my first definite crush, which had started the day I had gotten my wand at his grandfather's shop years prior. The first two summers after Hogwarts, he had been around Sven and I a lot and that's when this all developed. So I am sure you can imagine how much my excitement to get back to Russia was amplified because of him.**_

_**I told very few of my friends about him, and by very few I mean that I only told the girls, Severus, Remus, and Maksim. Telling James and Sirius things, well that never worked out well…and if I told Peter, he'd just go blabbering to the other two anyway.**_

"So you're going to see him in a few weeks?" Chantal prodded, a huge grin forming on the veela's face.

Audrey nodded.

"And what does the family think of him?" Teagan asked.

"Do they even know about him?" chimed in Chantal.

She laughed. "Yes! Yes! Our family has known the Gregorovitch family _forever_. They know of our _little _secret."

The girls giggled and Audrey continued. "And surprisingly, my father is completely fine about me writing to Karl."

The other two girls raised their eyebrows in shock, they knew how strict Isaac could be.

_**In the weeks that followed, we spent time exchanging whatever we had learned in our school's dance programs, as we had done the last few years. Our teacher Darcy found it funny that Chantal and I were intermixed with humans, who she had claimed were "silly" when it came to dance. **_

_**My father and mother still had the same summer routines as always, and I spent just as much time going off to carpentry jobs with my father as I did traveling to Banshee colonies around the countryside with my mother. If I've ever told you that I've felt like an outcast, I really felt like one whenever I visited a banshee colony. We all looked similar, black hair, with a lean yet curvy frame but I was the only one who wasn't green.**_

"Why is she not green?" A banshee some hundred feet away whispered to her companion.

"I don't know…it's so weird." said the other.

"I bet she's probably human." snorted the first one.

"I heard that." Audrey snarled. The two lost a bit of color.

"Oh look, the human has great hearing." said the first.

Audrey let her eyes glow from red to black. "Do I look human to you?" She sneered, cocking her head.

The two shook their heads and quickly walked away.

_**I always hated when that happened, I was either judged by my own for **__looking __**like a human or I was judged for not **__being __**a human. There was never any peace.**_

_**Finally, towards the end of July, I woke up and got ready for the train ride to St. Petersburg.**_

"Hello, _Fiona_." said a familiar, raspy voice.

Yuri, the werewolf conductor, stood behind her. Audrey grinned.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Conductor." She curtsied.

"Oh please, call me Yuri. Mr. Conductor is too official." He barked a laugh.

_**I filled Yuri in on my year at school, as always. He always seemed so amused by my stories of the marauders and running around the forest with Remus. You can imagine my shock when he turned and said to me…**_

"I think you're going to marry Sirius." He said suddenly.

Audrey's face contorted into an odd expression, it went from shock, to confusion, to looking like she was about to vomit.

"Yuri!" Audrey said, hitting his arm. "How could you say such a thing? You've never met him!"

"Trust me, Audrey. I just know these things." Yuri replied, a mysterious glint in his eyes.

_**I wanted to hit him, I remember. Why was everyone saying that? It couldn't possibly be…Sirius Black and I were at two ends of a spectrum. Completely opposite. He was a git, and I was considerate.**_

**Denial is always the first step.**

Audrey said her goodbye to Yuri, and got off the train. She looked around the crowded station for a familiar face, her grandmother always came to meet her at the train station. It was safer for her family, she never knew why, but her grandfather and great uncle seldom showed themselves around the great city.

She bit her lip, worrying when she couldn't find anyone.

"You're so cute when you're confused." said a familiar voice.

Audrey turned around and laughed. "Karl!"

He grinned sheepishly and held his arms out for a hug, spinning her around a few times. She giggled.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, kissing him on the cheek.

"Getting you from the train station of course." He smirked, picking up her bags for her. "Your grandparents sent me."

"Quite bizarre. Have they grown lazy on me?" She asked, poking him as they began to walk through the crowd..

"No, but Sven and I bothered them relentlessly, we wanted to know when you'd be arriving." Karl said, taking her hand and lacing it with his free one.

"Oh really? Where is Sven?" Audrey asked.

"Right here!" said a voice popping from nowhere behind them, making Audrey jump.

"Sven!" Audrey scolded, but then laughed when he made a face.

The three set out walking through the city. The couldn't apparate and didn't have a portkey, they had no choice.

"So how was _Durmstrangle_?" Audrey raised an eyebrow, looking at the two boys.

"Suffocating." Sven replied cleverly.

"I swear the guys there get dumber and more gullible each year." Karl sighed, shaking his head.

"Practicing dark magic on first years, carving Grindelwald's symbol into their arms like they're something fuckin' special." Sven spat, annoyed just thinking about it.

"They seem dim, from what you both have told me in your letters." Audrey reasoned, they nodded. "Dim like some of the boys in my school."

Audrey remembered the Quidditch final this past year, Slytherin vs. Gryffindor. Marcus Flint had hexed Sirius' broom, he was thrown from it and nearly died. James was hit with an unidentifiable curse that made him bleed profusely, but he was stubborn and still wanted to finish out the game. Gryffindor ended up winning by ten points.

"Like that Quidditch final?" Karl asked, looking at her.

_**I could have melted in Karl's eyes…they were a strange mix of blue and green.**_

"Yeah." Audrey replied, snapping out of her trance. "Two of our players nearly died, and it was so painfully obvious that the Slytherin team had hexed them, but _of course _they didn't receive penalty"

"It always seems the worst people never are caught." Karl mused, as they approached the gate of St. Aleksander's palace.

"Are you guys coming in?" She asked, looking at the two.

They shook their heads and Sven spoke. "No, I don't need to hear your grandfather and great uncle give Karl _the speech _for the _thousandth _time."

Audrey giggled, and looked at the two. "Are you serious?"

"I'm pretty sure I can recite it to you by heart." Sven said triumphantly.

"I'd love to hear it later then." Audrey said, giving Sven a funny look and laughing. "Are we meeting for dinner?"

The boys nodded.

"We'll meet in the square." Karl said, his eyes lighting up.

"Excellent." She replied, smiling. Sven sniggered at something, she shot him a look…she'd ask him what his problem was later.

She entered St. Aleksander's palace with the usual greetings. She was surprised to see her grandparents sitting together in the study, reading. It wasn't as though the two were ever on bad terms with each other, but they usually liked to go off and do their own things within the house. At least from what Audrey knew.

They were reading and whispering in low, barely audible, urgent voices. Audrey could only hear half of what they were saying.

"_Edik, she has to know! Isaac hasn't told her yet…"_

"_I know! I know!" _Edik snapped. _"Anastasia, the time…she's not ready to know this yet…it's too much to bear for her…she is still so young."_

"_Edik, if we don't tell her soon, she may never know! And we don't know if anyone else knows outside of the circle…"_

"_We have nothing to fear, Anastasia. I promise you." _Edik said.

Audrey felt awkward outside of the door and decided to knock, snapping the two out of their conversation. Their smiles weren't forced when they saw her, something Audrey would have expected after such an odd conversation.

_**I was so confused at the time, but I knew better than to question them about it. I don't know how they would react if they had known I was listening.**_

"Audrina." Edik grinned, standing up and wrapping his granddaughter in a tight hug. "Always the last to arrive for the summer, but the saying is that they do save the best for last."

Audrey laughed.

"Hey! She by far isn't the best!" said Hans, Audrey's older cousin strutting into the room. "She couldn't play Quidditch to save her life, Papa."

"That is true." said Peter, poking his head into the room.

"Oh shut it, you two." Audrey swiped her hand, a nearby book levitated and flung itself at them with great force.

"Ooooh a book! So scary!" Hans waved his arms, Audrey's eyes turned yellow and the boys set off down the hallway, she kissed her grandparents both on the cheek and ran after them, laughing.

Anastasia shot Edik a look, a look that he knew well.

"Let her wait, let her enjoy herself and be carefree now." Edik gestured to his three grandchildren, distant blurs running down the hall.


	21. Chapter 21

Thanks for the reviews, Madmad237, Weasleytwinslover87, SuperNovaWriter, JulesDragonlady, and Sarah Liz B! :D

We're moving along!

Sorry this took so long, I had my audition earlier today. It was the strangest thing, and it was so incredibly hot here today.

So, I have a question, mainly geared at my returning readers - I've thought about this over the last week, but how would you guys feel if I did a little series of one shots? I'm considering titling it "Deleted Scenes." Each one shot would be based from The Dark Lord's Last Hope, and this story (once its done at least.) and it would be certain scenes from other character's perspectives. Yay or nay?

Review, review, review! I've got exciting things planned. ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 21

After chasing her two cousins around the house for what seemed to be hours and catching up with her family members. Audrey set out around seven to meet Sven and Karl in the square.

She sat on the fountain and waited, looking around. As always, the city square was filled with people. Mainly muggle tourists, walking around and snapping pictures with their cameras. She remembered Lily telling her their first year that Muggle pictures don't move like wizard ones. Lily showed Audrey a few of them from her home.

_**I always found it quite sad that muggle pictures didn't move like ours. Lily had shown me a picture of her childhood dog that had passed away the year before. It made me reminisce of an old stray dog that used to come to our home often, we named him Jackson. One day he just stopped coming to us. My parents and I like to think that maybe he found a home somewhere else, or that he was reunited with a long lost owner. But something always told me that he had died, though whenever I look at the pictures I have of him it makes me smile. He's moving around excitedly in the photo frame, barking. To see Lily's still photos, I just felt such pain to think that when she looks at it that her dog wont move.**_

"Muggle watching?" said a familiar voice. Audrey turned to see Sven sitting on the fountain next to her. She nodded.

"Look at that one's shirt." He chuckled, pointing into the crowd. Audrey remembered something.

"Hey Sven?"

"Yeah?"

"What were you laughing about earlier?" Audrey cocked her head.

"Oh!" Sven laughed again. "That. Well, I was laughing because every time Karl sees you or someone mentions you in front of him he looks all goofy. Then of course, watching you two have _normal_ conversations is priceless."

"How so?" Audrey asked, blushing slightly that Sven had told her such a thing about Karl.

"You both get this dreamy look in your eyes. He grins a lot and you certainly bat those eyelashes of yours a lot." Sven elbowed her, she blushed again, covering her face.

"Muggle watching?" said Karl, just arriving at the fountain.

"Yes." Audrey replied, still covering her face with her hands. Karl sat next to her trying to pry them off.

"Did Sven do something?" He laughed as she was struggling with him.

"Nope." The other two said together at the same time. Karl raised a suspicious eyebrow at Sven, who looked away.

"I was just so embarrassed by some of the muggle tourist apparel around here." Audrey said, covering for Sven and finally taking her hands off her face.

"Audrey! Where'd you come from?" Karl asked, joking. She lightly slapped his arm and he grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. Sven shot her an _'I told you so.' _look.

"England." Audrey replied, giving him a look.

"Well your Russian is impeccable." Karl mused. Audrey slapped her palm to her forehead and he laughed.

"Can we go to dinner before I _vomit_?" Sven asked, getting up. The other two followed, laughing.

_**We almost always ate at the same café, a small, old building that few muggles visited. I was surprised it was still even in business after all these years. Despite being a muggle business it was owned by two wizard brothers. Like almost everyone, they knew nothing about my family. They only knew them as 'the famous Ivanoff family' …my grandmother's family. Though I wasn't necessarily aware of what the Ivanoff family had done that they were considered so aristocratic in wizard Russia.**_

"Welcome back, you three." said Gosha, one of the brothers who worked behind the counter. "The usual?"

The three nodded and he laughed.

"Always the same." He tutted, shaking his head and walking away.

"Well it's not our faults it's the only good dinner entrée they have." Sven muttered to his friends. They laughed.

_**We spent the holidays as we always did, wandering the city, eating at Gosha's café. We went to a secluded beach near the Neva river all the time, sitting and watching the water. Of course, we attended Sailing Week every summer, a festival and competition among wizards and muggles. The three of us didn't care much for the boating, but there was music, dancing, and good food.**_

Audrey laughed when Karl twirled her around and then continued to dance.

"Where's Sven?" She yelled over the music and cheers.

Karl nodded his head in the other direction where Sven, and her two cousins, Hans and Peter, were talking to a group of girls, most likely tourists.

"Are they-?" Audrey began, as they started dancing for the next song.

"I think they're muggles, but they've been looking at him all night." Karl replied.

"Our little boy is growing up." Asia mocked, Karl grinned twirling her around once more.

"Yeah." Karl said, getting closer to her.

_**I don't think I was entirely sure what was happening, but my heart was fluttering and it felt like there were pixies in my stomach. His lips collided with mine, and if I had been human, with the speed of my heart I probably would have died.**_

Audrey ran her hands through his hair as he deepened the kiss, coming back with as much force. She couldn't hear much at all. Time, sound, and everything else seemed to be non-existent at that moment.

_Hahahahahaha!_

They broke apart, looking to where the laughter had come from. Of course it was Sven. He wore a huge grin.

"It's about time." He said, smirking and crossing his arms. Audrey blushed and buried her face in Karl's chest.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. Hans owes me some money." Sven said, skipping off.

"You bet on it?" Audrey said incredulously and Sven called over his shoulder.

"_Da!"_

Karl and Audrey exclaimed glances, she shrugged her shoulders and pulled him in for another kiss.

_**The second time didn't last as long as the first…**_

Sven came charging between the two purposely, breaking them up. He put one arm around each of them.

"Oh and I'm totally telling both of your grandfathers!"

The two groaned, Audrey knew Edik would be fine, and Grigori would be fine. But she would never live it down, and she was sure Karl wouldn't either.

"You're so cute when you're both in unison." Sven smirked. "Get back to sucking each other's faces off." He waved them off and went running through the square.

_**As always, my time in Russia flew by in a breeze, I was leaving the night after Sven and Karl would set off to school. Durmstrang started two weeks before Hogwarts, and I was sad to see my best friend and my boyfriend leave. I wouldn't see them for another year, and every year it was always a little more painful. I hated waiting, I loved the city, and I cherished our times there.**_

_**The way Durmstrang students traveled to school, at least from Russia, was by boat. Like the Kings Cross station, the port to Durmstrang was hidden. It didn't have a "stupid" name like Platform 9 ¾ , which Sven and Karl had found incredibly funny. In order to get into the Port, you would have to board a boat. A small, rickety, old yacht that Muggles couldn't see. Once entering the yacht, you'd take the first door on the left and be on the docks.**_

_**Despite Karl and Sven insisting to me numerous times that their docks were a whole different world from Platform 9 ¾ , but really, it was just the same. **_

Audrey slipped quickly and quietly into the boat, took the first door on the right and was out on a large dock. There was a huge white roof over it and several parents bustling around, kids with trolleys, trunks, and pets. Audrey snorted.

She made her way through the crowd, taking in the large black boat that was tied to the dock. It was labeled **DURMSTRANG**, like the dock. And _they _thought Audrey's means of transportation _weren't _original. _Right_.

After breaking through a crowd of rowdy boys who were cat calling at her, she had seen the back of Karl's head easily, and then spotted Sven some feet away chatting with someone she couldn't see. She ran towards them, not sure when the ship was set out to sail.

"Karl!" Audrey called, running to him. He turned around, an expression of surprise and happiness on his face. She ran into his arms and kissed him.

They pulled apart once out of breath, he rested his forehead against hers.

"That was some good bye." He breathed, she gave a small laugh. In the distance, they heard two fox whistles. Audrey looked over to find Sven and Afanasi, the vampire they had befriended a few years before.

"Afanasi? Out in the _day time_? What is this?" Audrey said sarcastically. The vampire grinned.

"Just had to see dear old Sven off here." He patted Sven's shoulder. "I'm being temporary daddy for the moment." Afanasi grinned, bearing his fangs slightly, Sven's real father was on a business trip.

There was a foghorn sound that cut through the air. Karl sighed, and looked at his best friend.

"We better board before all the compartments are full."

"And before the train leaves without you." Afanasi said pointedly.

"That too." Karl agreed.

Sven gave Audrey a tight hug, then began to wheel his stuff over to the boarding ramp. Afanasi followed, muttering something about awkward situations. Karl and Audrey exchanged glances.

"You'll write me?"

"Of course." Karl's eyes were magnificent in the sunlight. "Only if you write me." He elbowed her lightly.

"_Da_, _Karl_!" Audrey said, as if it weren't obvious enough.

She gave him a final kiss before he boarded, then walked off the docks with Afanasi.

_**After spending the rest of the day roaming the city with Afanasi, and spending some time with my family I began to pack for England once more. I would go home for a day or more, and then head to James Potter's house for a week and a half. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had offered to take all of us to Diagon Alley for school supplies, and my parents wouldn't pass up that opportunity. My mother refused to be seen in front of humans with me, and so did my father. Though it was for safety reasons, it seemed to me that my parents worried more about my reputation then I actually did…**_

_**Usually, I did my shopping in Russia with my aunts and grandmother but this year was different.**_

_**I wasn't sure what to expect at the Potter residence, as weird as it was I had never stayed in an entirely human household. I had visited Karl's grandfather's house…but that was different. Mr. and Mrs. Potter didn't know what I was...**_

**_…though their son did._**


	22. Chapter 22

Many thanks for the reviews, PintoNess (God, I know the feeling of four hour rehearsals… o.O Best of luck!), SuperNovaWriter, Masterofbugs123, Sarah Liz B, and Madmad237!

Alrighty, so a little better detail on "Deleted Scenes" - it'd be from the perspectives of characters such as Jenny, Oliver, Fred and George, Sirius, Harry, Remus, etc. I've got a few ideas, I need to write them out one day and see where it goes from there. :]

Kickin' it up a notch, things are going to be pretty interesting in the next few chapters… review? ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 22

Audrey was set to floo to James' house with her trunk and whatever she needed for school.

_**The floo network wasn't my favorite way to travel…**_

She rolled out of the fireplace and tumbled onto her feet. There was a smattering of applause as Audrey dusted herself off, coughing.

She looked up to see James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus around the Potter's kitchen table, they were giving her a standing ovation.

"Score cards, gents?" James said, as he held up a napkin with the number ten written on it.

Peter followed, also a 10, Remus followed with a 9.5. Sirius held up his which was a scratched out 7, changed to an 11.

James mock scowled at his friend and said. "It's a scale of 0 -10, Sirius."

"I'm sorry, James." Sirius replied. "But you see, I was going to give her a seven, I didn't like that tumble much. But I gave her an additional four points for staying pretty. You know, it's terribly hard to keep up such a _beautiful _appearance after traveling floo."

Peter smirked, Remus rolled his eyes, and James snorted. While that banter was going on Audrey situated herself by sitting on her trunk in the middle of the kitchen.

"Are you girls done fussing over there?" Audrey asked.

"Yes, Russia. We're done." James said, coming over and sitting next to her on her trunk. He put his arm around her shoulders in a friendly manner. Sirius gave him a deadly look but quickly changed his expression.

"Why are you so friendly all of a sudden, James Potter?" Audrey poked him square in the chest.

"Well, this is my house. I'm hosting you lot, I figured I should be friendly." James replied.

"Plus he figures if he's nice to you, you'll tell Lily, and Lily will come." Remus said, sitting at the table and reading the Daily Prophet.

"Oh shut it, Moony." James said, throwing an orange across the room at him.

Remus caught it easily, and looked up from his paper with a smirk. "Thanks James, how'd you know I was hungry?"

James groaned in frustration, and then turned to Audrey. "So is Lils coming?"

Audrey laughed, elbowing James. "Honestly, I don't know, James. I sent her an owl over a week ago and she didn't get back to me. She's been a bit busy this summer, and so have I so we haven't written as often as we usually do."

It was the truth, she hadn't written to Lily and Marlene much. All of them were busy, she heard from Severus often but he seemed detached and depressed. She knew why of course, only her and Lily knew. For that reason, Lily stayed home often, making sure Severus was okay. Audrey had snuck out of her house a few times and flown to Spinner's End, when it was pitch black no one could see her in the sky.

"Oh…" James replied, disappointed. Audrey gave him a consoling pat on the back.

"I'm sure she'll show up, James. I mean, I'm here. Why wouldn't she?" Audrey smirked. "And I heard Marlene is coming?"

"Yes." James replied. "Marlene's coming sometime tomorrow."

"_Tomorrow_?" Audrey whined. "I have to spend the _whole _day with you four?"

"You act like that's a bad thing." Remus grinned, putting the Prophet down.

"Well it's not bad if _you're_ here, Remus." Audrey said.

"You're the only one that gets her, Remus. She's _special_, remember?" Sirius snorted.

Audrey shook her head and replied. "Sirius, don't be jealous that I can fly without a broom and you can't."

"I'm not jealous." Sirius sputtered incredulous.

"Uh huh, sure." Audrey laughed.

"So Audrey, how was Russia?" said Remus, deciding to steer the conversation in a different direction. Otherwise, Sirius would sputter on like an idiot.

"It was nice, Remus. Just what I needed." Audrey beamed.

"It looks like someone has pictures." James said, he was rummaging through one of Audrey's bags.

"You know nothing of privacy, do you?" Audrey laughed. "Yes, that stack right there contains all of the pictures from Russia this past month."

James had unraveled a piece of string that was around the stack, he spread out all of the photos onto his kitchen table, the four boys gathered around for a look.

There were photos from all sorts of things, ranging from Audrey's family, impromptu games of Quidditch with her cousins, uncles, and grandfather, Sven trying on strange clothes, Hans, Sven, and Peter dancing at Sailing Week, Afanasi and Sven holding Audrey sideways, several photos of Edik throwing food at Ivan.

"Oh look! Audrey's playing Quidditch!" Peter exclaimed, pointing at one of the photos.

"Why don't you ever play with us, Audweeeey?" James asked, Audrey laughed.

"Because I could outfly your sticks of wood easily." She snorted, holding up a hand.

"Little miss _special!"_ Sirius cooed, bumping hips with Audrey.

_**Sirius had grown a few more inches over the summer, I remember his shoulders had broadened and his voice had dropped a little further. As Lily would later put it, he had this sultry sound to his voice.**_

**How else would I attract so many females? With my charming smile or good looks? …Don't answer that, it's rhetorical.**

"Who's that?" Remus asked, looking at a photo of Sven and Hans doing Barynya, a folk dance.

"That's my best friend Sven, and my cousin Hans." Audrey replied.

"Ooooh so that's _Sven_." James cooed. "Your _best friend_…uh huh."

_**James had been under the impression for the previous three years that Sven and I were romantically involved.**_

Audrey sighed slapping her palm to her forehead.

"Is this your grandmother?" Sirius asked, pointing to a picture of just Nanna, who was waving excitedly.

Audrey nodded.

"She's so adorable." Sirius laughed.

"She may look adorable, but she could bite your head off and set you on fire." Audrey commented, giggling. She had rarely witnessed her Nanna get angry, but when she did, she transformed into a birdlike creature and could shoot fire from her hands. It was a very _rare _occurrence though, Anastasia Ivanoff-Dalio was incredibly calm.

James' mouth dropped. "Your grandmother isn't human either?"

"James, there isn't a single living human in my blood family…I have some human in laws, but I don't see them much. They work a lot and I think my grandfather scares them." Audrey grinned, pushing back some hair.

"So then, is your grandmother a veela?" Remus asked, an eyebrow raised.

Audrey nodded. "Yeah, my grandmother is a veela, her mother was a veela and her father was a werewolf."

At that moment, the other three boys looked at Remus.

"Reeeemus! You could marry a veela!" James exclaimed.

"And have hybrid babies!" chimed in Sirius.

Remus and Audrey both began to hit their heads on the wall nearby.

"Alright, alright. We get the point, you think us _humans_ are dumb." Sirius said, walking over to them and pulling them away from the wall.

"Not dumb." Audrey said.

"Just very mislead by folk lore." Remus supplied.

"Well that's why you're here." James grinned. "To enlighten us."

Sirius slid down onto his knees, grabbing both of Audrey's hands and pulling at her. "Enlighten us, great beings!"

She laughed, shaking him off. "You're both _so _weird."

"Hey Audrey, who's _this_?" Peter grinned, holding up a photo of Karl and Audrey. Karl was kissing her on the cheek.

"Oooooooooh!" The other three boys said, knocking Audrey out of the way to get a look at the photo.

**Before I even knew his name, I hated him. So much.**

Audrey blushed slightly, and exchanged a glance with Remus. She knew Remus already had a general idea of who it was.

"Well?" James said crossing his arms.

"Out with it, Audrey. You're blushing." Peter smirked.

"That is my boyfriend, Karl." Audrey said, figuring she might as well just out it. She couldn't take back the photo.

James and Sirius' jaws dropped, Peter grinned, and Remus just wore an expression that said _'Why am I not surprised?'_

"A _boyfriend_?" asked James.

"Dalio, we all know you got _super hot _last year but we didn't think this would be so soon." Sirius said.

_**When he said that, I could feel something tiny flaring up inside of me…I chose to ignore it. I told myself over and over that it was nothing. I mean, it wasn't the first time Sirius had rather openly said that to me. I just assumed he said that to every girl he saw. How else would he have conned so many?**_

James, Peter, and Remus exchanged a quick look.

Audrey put her hands on her hips, staring at the four, mainly Sirius.

"How on earth is this soon? Sirius, you've been dating within the Hogwarts female student body since January of our first year." Audrey said pointedly.

"That's different." Sirius replied, he was now sitting down at the table, his hands folded.

The other boys knew better then to interject as they always would when the two would mock fight. But this wasn't mock fighting…though Sirius didn't state it often, they all knew he was mad about her.

"Oh, really?" Audrey replied haughtily, arching an eyebrow. She then became incredibly sarcastic. "How so?"

"Because Audrey, it just is." Sirius replied, his voice wavering slightly. "My-"

Audrey cut him off. "Your relationships are hardly serious, the longest I remember has been three months. Every girl I've seen you break up with has been reduced to tears by your arrogance and you can't control yourself around the opposite sex."

"Well, it isn't really your place to talk about the length of relationships, now is it, Audrey? How _long _have you been dating this guy?" Sirius was clever, he wasn't going to lose this argument**.**

**I was incredibly stubborn, it was easy making women swoon. Strangers, classmates, hell, even teachers! I had never actually argued with a girl before, because…well, I don't really need to explain that. I was a ladies man, yes, ut Audrey was one of the very few that didn't fall for it, **_**at all**_**. It wasn't only that, I couldn't deny that there wasn't something about her. She wasn't just a pretty face, she had something else. **

"Officially? Two weeks, we've been writing to each other for a year, and I've known him since I was ten, Sirius. How long have you known all of your ex girlfriends? Two days, then you're in the relationship?" Audrey cocked her head, a mocking expression on her face.

Sirius stood up from his chair, and strode over to her. He was inches away from her face, not breaking eye contact with her.

**I found some tiny satisfaction that I had made her angry, her eyes were a deep red, but in my arrogance I did not cower. I knew she wouldn't hurt me, she'd regret it terribly.**

He was about to speak, when the front door opened and a friendly voice called. "Boys? Hello? Did Audrey arrive yet? You haven't broken anything or set anything on fire yet have you?"

Footsteps came close to the kitchen, Sirius broke away from Audrey just in time as Mrs. Potter entered the kitchen. He strutted back to where he sat at the table, a Cheshire grin on his face.

_**I could read his face, he was mocking me. I felt myself surpress an angry tremor threatening to escape me.**_

"Oh! You must be Audrey!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed, putting down some bags on the kitchen counter. "James had told us all about you dear."

"_All_ about you." Mr. Potter walked in next, winking at Audrey.

"Ah." Audrey replied, giving James a questioning look.

"Don't worry, we're not elitist pure bloods." Mr. Potter said, giving a friendly laugh. "Right, Sirius?"

"Right, sir!" Sirius saluted, his eyes still on Audrey, daring her.

_**The urge I had to slap him across the face…**_

"That's good to know." Audrey giggled, Sirius was impressed by how calm and elegant she could act.

"I've read so much about the earth movers." Mr. Potter said excitedly. "Can you show us some stuff? If it's not to forward? If you're uncomfortable I understand."

"Oh no, I can…I'd just rather do it at night, perhaps after dinner?" Audrey asked.

"That's fine." Mr. Potter clapped his hands, delighted.

"We've never _fully _seen Audrey in action, Henry." Sirius grinned, Audrey now wasn't sure if he was serious or mocking.

It was true, the only thing the boys knew about or had seen were her eyes and witnessed the occasional tiny tremor here and there. She had admitted it to them their second year when they figured out something was up.

"Perhaps I can carve a stone effigy of James." Audrey joked.

"Could you?" James said, serious. His eyes were shining.

Audrey laughed.


	23. Chapter 23

Yay! Reviews! Thanks Madmad237, Sarah Liz B, Weaslytwinslover87 (x2! :P), and kankananime123 (HI! *waves*)

Glad to get some good feedback about the Deleted Scenes thing, I don't know when I'll start it, but soon hopefully.

This is one of my favorite chapters I've written so far in this story…Reeeeeeview? ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 23

Remus had helped Audrey heave her trunk upstairs, though Mr. Potter insisted he could send it up there with a flick of his wand, Audrey declined. She really needed to speak with Remus badly otherwise she felt that she was going to explode and bring the entire house down with her.

"Oh Remus, you know where her guest room is right?" Mrs. Potter called.

"Of course, Elly." Remus smiled, taking one side of Audrey's trunk with ease as Audrey took the other. Remus lead them from the kitchen and up a dark oak staircase.

The upstairs hallway branched out into ten bedrooms, Audrey's eyes widened. How much money did the Potter's have?

Remus went to the end of the hallway, and opened the tenth door. The room Audrey was staying in was a light lilac color, it had a queen sized bed in it, and silvery white curtains.

"Wow…" Audrey said, as the put her trunk down at the foot of the bed.

"Yeah, Elly and Henry really go all out with their guest rooms. And such big beds in every room. It's quite lovely really." Remus grinned, pulling up a chair that was near the window as Audrey sat on the bed. He then became serious.

"Go ahead, rant away…"

"I don't even know where to begin, Remus! I mean, I come into the house and everything's all fine and for once I'm not annoyed with him then he turns into a prat because I have a boyfriend for once. He's worse than my father!" Audrey flopped back onto the bed, sighing.

"Well, Audrey. I think it's a bit of a shock because James and Sirius have always viewed you as _that _girl."

"_That _girl? Remus, what are you talking about?" Audrey got up, cocking her head.

"_Well, James sees you as his little sister and Sirius is madly in love with you but he's too much of a git to say it and he acts like a jackass around you." _Remus thought to himself, but instead said.

"Well, James and Sirius both see you as a little sister, and I think Sirius was just so defensive because he doesn't want you to get hurt by this guy. From what I've heard from you, Karl seems to be a great guy. But Sirius doesn't know that, and maybe he's worried that-"

"That I'll get played by Karl just like Sirius plays every girl he's ever dated?" Audrey asked, raising an eyebrow.

Remus nodded, deciding to himself. _"Okay, let's just go with that then."_

It worked, one of the main reasons he was up here talking to Audrey right now was to save Sirius' ass. He'd be howling like a dog for again if Audrey gave him the cold shoulder like she did at least once a year for the last three years when he would relentlessly bully Severus. Of course, the other main reason was that Audrey was one of his best friends, and it killed him watching his two friends fight.

Audrey sighed, looking at the floor. "I don't know if I'll be able to deal with him for the rest of the day, Remus."

"Oh, you'll be fine, Audrey. You just need to get back into the swing of things. Just stick by me and Peter, James will handle Sirius. He's best at that." Remus mused, Audrey gave him a small smile.

"I was deeply considering putting him in his place later this evening." She said, getting up from the bed and pacing. "When I show Mr. Potter some of my tricks."

"How so?" Remus asked, a little frightened but amused.

"I don't know. I may or may not do something...depends on how I feel." Audrey smirked and then added. "Don't worry, Remus. I wont cause him _much_ bodily harm…"

Remus looked frightened for a moment, but Audrey laughed and then he joined her.

Audrey spent the rest of the afternoon watching the boys play Quidditch in the field behind James' house. James had ever so kindly asked her to ref and Audrey couldn't refuse.

_Tweeeeeeeee_

"Penalty!" Audrey yelled, putting down her whistle and pointing at Sirius.

"Bullshit!" Sirius yelled. "I'd like to call in another less gender biased ref!"

"I'm _not _gender biased, Sirius. I just _hate _you." Audrey said maliciously, giving him a look.

**That did hurt a bit, I'm not going to lie.**

"Penalty shot for Peter." Audrey said, turning her back to Sirius.

James whispered in Sirius' ear. "Don't argue back, then she'll get madder and she'll blow up the bloody field."

Sirius sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I guess you're right, mate."

"We'll talk about her later." James mumbled in his ear. The four boys have always been known to have conversations in the middle of the night.

_**Dinner was a strange affair, it was awkward and tense. Not the greatest of combinations…**_

Mr. Potter was chattering away with the boys about Quidditch, while Mrs. Potter and Audrey exchanged looks of mock annoyance.

"Can we talk about something other than Quidditch?" Elly asked, looking from Henry to the boys.

_**She looked at Sirius, Remus, and Peter as if they were her own, she was a very loving woman.**_

"Why? Bored, Elly?" Henry asked, a sly smile on his face that reminded Audrey too much of James.

"Yes, incredibly." Elly drawled, smiling. "Audrey and I enjoy Quidditch but we'd rather talk about things that we like as well."

"Alright…" Sirius piped up. "Well for one thing, I personally think Dalio's wearing too much mascara."

Peter's mouth popped open in shock, Remus shot Sirius an incredulous look. Was he really going to go there?

Audrey laughed, genuinely laughed at this. "Sirius, that's hilarious that you think you know about cosmetics. However, I'm not wearing make up. These are my eye lashes. You can even ask Mrs. Potter, she'd know."

"She's not wearing any, Sirius." Mrs. Potter said, a small smile on her face.

"Well, now that this situation has been made awkward…" James began. "Audrey, can you show us some of your stuff? It's dark enough and everyones done eating…."

Audrey shrugged getting up. "Alright, what do you want to see?"

"How about flying?" Sirius asked, putting on a sexy smirk, his eyes were alight. Audrey was trying to read him…

Audrey gave a nod and made her way for the back door, the others followed. Mr. Potter was chattering excitedly.

Audrey looked around the field, and found a nice sized boulder. She walked over to it, jumped on top of it, and levitated into the air with ease. Her eyes shone bright yellow in the darkness, and Mr. Potter was _oohing _and _ahhing_. Audrey sighed contentedly when she was about twenty five feet off of the ground.

"So you mock us for flying brooms but you're flying a boulder? Isn't that a bit..._primitive_?" Sirius called, looking up at her.

_**And that was the first time I had considered dropping a large boulder on Sirius Black, there would be many more times to come afterwards…**_

Audrey flew a few feet away from them, let the boulder drop from under her feet and floated there.

_**I always hated flying without a rock, it was incredibly uncomfortable to me.**_

"Okay, fine. Fine. I see your point." Sirius called, Audrey smirked.

**I would never admit it out loud, but damn she was beautiful up there. And when she smiled I melted…Yes, yes. The infamous player Sirius Black has a heart, contrary to popular belief.**

"What else can you do?" James asked.

Audrey decided to get interesting, she sent a gust of in James' direction and lifted him from the ground.

"Wooah." James said, tumbling around as the air was pulling him upward. Audrey laughed, gently putting him back on the ground.

"My way of flying is better." She grinned, now floating only two feet above the ground.

"Can you show us anything else?" Mrs. Potter asked, intrigued.

"I don't want to blow up your yard, m'am." Audrey replied.

_**It wasn't only that though, I felt so weird with everyone staring at me.**_

"Alright, that's fine." Mr. Potter said. "We're putting you out like a circus animal right now. I apologize, Audrey."

"It's alright, Mr. Potter. It's natural for people to be a bit curious about my…er…_abilities_." Audrey replied, still hovering.

_**In the dark, I noticed Sirius giving me the strangest of looks. I was a little creeped out actually.**_

After everyone headed inside, Mr. and Mrs. Potter bid the kids good night and headed off to bed. Which left the five sitting in James' living room.

Remus and James were versing each other in a long game of Wizards Chess and Peter was watching intently. Sirius and Audrey sat on the couch, Audrey purposely sat as far as she could from Sirius.

**I noticed how intently my friends were into this game of chess, and how Audrey was tiring out. She had told us earlier, after we had all changed into our night clothes, that she was still getting used to the time changes. **

**As she began to doze off on the couch, I slowly inched my way over to her side of the sofa. James was of course the only one who had noticed. His eyes flickered in my direction for a brief second and he smirked.**

Sirius inched closer and closer, he knew how careful he had to be. Though she didn't look like it, Audrey had brilliant reflexes…of course, because she was different. Her reaction times were speedy, and that made it incredibly difficult for the four to prank her over the last few years.

He lifted her gently without her going into "ninja mode" as Peter and James had put it, in her half- sleeping state she was much more cooperative and it surprised Sirius greatly. She rested her head on his chest without argument, letting him wrap his arms around her.

"She's going to kill you if she wakes up, mate." Remus mouthed.

I was willing to take the chance.

She sighed in her sleep. His heart fluttered.

"You should probably take her upstairs." James whispered, still intently watching the chest board.

"You'd actually _trust _him with that task, James?" Remus snorted.

**I may have looked like it, but I did not have any dishonorable intentions.  
>...Okay, that's a lie. I really did, my intentions were <strong>_beyond_** dishonorable, but she wasn't like all of the other girls I've encountered. She wasn't dispensable.**

"I can do it!" Sirius whined quietly. Remus shot him a skeptical look.

"Alright, Sirius. But if I hear Audrey scream…" Remus began.

"You won't, Moony." Sirius shot back quickly.

"And should you try to suppress it, I _will _hear." Remus gave him a knowing look.

**For a fourteen year old, he was such an old man…and he acted as if I were a **_rapist!_

Sirius scooped her up into his arms, her head still resting on his chest and began walked out of the living room. He made his way through the front hallway and began to climb the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Audrey mumbled, still somewhat asleep. Her eyelids were to heavy to bother opening.

"To your room." Sirius replied softly, opening the door at the end of the hallway. He set her down on the bed gently.

"Thanks Sirius." Audrey mumbled, adjusting herself slightly and turning on her side.

"Anytime, Audrey." Sirius smirked. He figured himself lucky that she couldn't see him smirking.

He was about to leave and close the door when he turned back to the bed, tip toeing over.

"Audrey?"

"Mhmmm?"

"Do you really hate me?" Sirius asked, genuinely curious. He ran his fingers through her hair, something she seldom let him do. She hadn't trusted him much since the spider web incident during their first year.

"No, of course not." She replied, there was a long pause and she spoke again. "You're an amazing friend, it's just that sometimes you get a little too far under my skin."

"How so?" Sirius asked, still curious.

"I don't know…" said Audrey, sleepily. Sirius assumed that he should just leave but then she spoke again. "…the Karl thing, I thought you'd be happy for me."

**I really wanted to say. "BLOODY HELL NO, WHY ARE YOU WITH THAT WANKER WHEN I'VE LOVED YOU FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS?"  
><strong>**But **_instead _**I said…**

"Of course I am, love. I'm just over protective."

"Like I said before, you're a good friend, Sirius." Audrey mumbled, stretching a bit in her sleep.

"Glad to hear it, love." Sirius whispered, kissing her on the forehead and exiting the room.


	24. Chapter 24

Thanks for the reviews, PintoNess, Kankananime123, Madmad237, Snarkilicious, Sarah Liz B, Weasleytwinslover87, and xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx! :D

Double header today! Two chapters, relatively long ones! Chapter 25 is going to be a humorous one. :]

Hint about Deleted Scenes: There will be one or two scenarios that are a cross between this story and my first story.

It'd be mighty nice of you if you reviewed... ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 24

_The next morning…_

"G'morning." Audrey said, stretching and walking into the kitchen. Remus sat at the head of the table, reading the morning Prophet.

_**I have always been greatly amused by how mature Remus always looked in comparison to his friends. It wasn't as though he was trying to be that way, he just simply was…**_

Peter was munching on some toast, James was pouring himself some water, and Sirius sat at the table next to Remus with his hands behind his head.

"_Morning_." James said, uncharacteristically skipping back to the table. Peter stared at his toast, a smirk on his face. Remus continued to read, and Sirius wore his usual grin, but there was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Audrey raised an eyebrow at the four, but sat down at the table anyway.

"So Audrey, how did you sleep last night?" James asked, casually.

_**When you knew James Potter well enough, he always bore this one facial expression that told you instantly that he knew something or that he was up to something. He wore that expression a lot when we were around the others, and I knew they all were thinking about something…**_

Audrey gave a tiny shrug, figuring she'd be honest.

"Not to well, I had some dream that someone was talking to me, after that I had repetitive nightmares of screaming and flashing red and green lights."

_**It was true, for a good portion of the night I had the same nightmare. There were indiscernible yells and screams, and flashes of red and green light. My heart raced every time I woke up and I could feel my stomach tying into nervous knots even though I knew it had been a dream…**_

One by one, Audrey watched as the boys expressions changes. Sirius frowned first, Remus looked up from the paper, he gave Audrey a stare as if to say _'You and I will talk about this later._' James rubbed the back of his head, looking awkward and guilty. Peter looked down, sad.

"Well, I'm sure it was just a dream." Sirius said soothingly, after a few moments of awkward silence.

"I suppose so…" Audrey replied, taking some toast. "It just felt so real."

_Crack._

A burst of green smoke erupted from the fireplace, someone was arriving at the house.

"MARLY!" Audrey squealed, sliding on the kitchen floor to her friend who had landed on her behind in James' kitchen.

"AUDWEE!" Marlene squealed as Audrey tackled her friend into a hug. "Oh god, I've missed you so much."

"How was Step camp?" Audrey asked.

"Like I said." Marlene replied, rolling her eyes. "I've missed you terribly. Some of the girls there…ugh."

"That bad?" Audrey asked.

"So arrogant. Magical and muggle alike…if only we were allowed to use magic outside of school…" Marlene said, sighing with her friend.

"I swear to Merlin, you two are like twins sometimes." Sirius snorted, as the boys walked over to greet Marlene one by one.

"Don't be jealous, Sirius." Marlene said in mock arrogance. "We've got better twin telepathy than you and James."

"I highly doubt that, Marly." James said, hugging her.

"So, did you lot just wake up?" She asked, surveying the five. They nodded.

"Figures." Marlene grinned. "You all look awful…except for my twinny of course."

"Can't argue with that." Sirius mumbled, exchanging a glance with James.

As the six sat around the table, Marlene popped out of her chair and pointed at Audrey.

"WAIT!"

"What?"

"You need to give me some further details about _Russia_!" Marlene said, wiggling her eyebrows.

_**I wasn't sure why every one of my friends in England insisted on saying the word Russia with a fake Russian accent.**_

"Oh, Marly…you didn't hear? Audrey's got a boyfriend." James cooed, grinning.

Marlene snorted. "Of course I knew about Karl! It was inevitable. I called this last year practically, right Remus?"

"Right, Marley." Remus smiled.

"You told her, before you told us?" Sirius was incredulous.

"_Da_, Sirius." Audrey's accent coming through. "She is my _bliznets_!"

**I always found it really, really, really sexy when she spoke in Russian. James made fun of me for it all the time.**

"I'll take it that's Russian for twin…" James said, cocking his head. Audrey nodded with a grin.

"Well, if she's such a good twin, wouldn't she have the telepathy to know that you had a boyfriend?" Peter questioned.

"It doesn't work long distance." Marlene replied easily. Audrey nodded.

"Touche." Remus replied, impressed with their quick wit. They really did give James and Sirius a run for their galleons.

"So…" James said awkwardly.

"Let me guess, you want to know if Lily's coming?" Marlene gave him an all knowing look.

_**James bore a striking resemblance to a puppy when Lily was a conversational topic.**_

James nodded, his eyes bigger than usual, and it wasn't because of his glasses.

"Yes-"

James interrupted her by whooping.

"Lily is coming, Sarah is coming with her-"

"PUFFER!" The boys cheered, Sarah, being their only friend in Hufflepuff, had several affectionate nicknames that were varied from her house.

"Can you gits let me finish?" Marlene sighed.

The boys nodded excitedly.

"Sarah and Lily will be coming either later today or tomorrow. Lily said she'd send an owl when they figured it out. They'll floo from Sarah's."

**James was grinning like an idiot.**

"Well, now that I've made James' day-"

"More like life." Sirius mumbled, shooting a smirk at Remus.

"…Audrey, where are the pictures?" Marlene said, crossing her arms.

Audrey sighed and stood up, she stretched out for a moment, and then burst into a speedy jog. Remus was timing her for laughs.

As quickly as she'd left, she came back, holding the stack of photos.

"Twelve seconds." Remus grinned.

"That's faster than last time!" Peter's eyes widened.

Audrey waved them off, she could have run faster anyway. She gave Marlene a few of the photos from the stack. There were tons of her and Karl, the boys just didn't see.

"Oooh, Audrey." Marlene cooed. "You told me good things, but…wow."

"I'm glad you approve." Audrey's eyes bore a mischievous glint of another kind. Marlene knew very well what she meant.

**I wanted to yell at the top of my lungs, reach across the table, and shred those photographs to bits. But I held myself together, I would rant to my friends later, just as I had the previous night.**

_After Sirius had tip toed out of Audrey's room and shut the door, he quickly made his way downstairs to where James, Remus, and Peter sat, still on the couches in the living room._

"_What took you so long?" Remus raised an eyebrow._

"_Just…talking." Sirius said awkwardly. It was the truth._

"_You're grinning." James pointed out, shifting forward on the couch._

"_Alright! Alright!" Sirius put his hands up in surrender. "I just asked Audrey some things…that's all."_

"_But she was fast asleep." said Remus, suspicious._

"_Yes, Moony." replied Sirius. "She was, but she stirred a bit on the way up the stairs, she was half conscious."_

"_Alright then, well what did you ask her?" James said._

"_Get on with it!" chimed in Peter._

"_So I set her down in her bed, right? And I was about to leave, when I turned around and I asked her if she really hated me." Sirius began._

"_And?" Remus asked, curious. Sirius shot him an odd look._

"_She said she didn't, and that I'm a good friend but I get on her nerves sometimes."_

"Sometimes_?" Remus snorted, James laughed._

"_Oh shut it!" Sirius said, waving them off. "Anyway, I asked her how and she said 'I don't know, I just thought you'd be happy for me about the Karl thing…"_

_James, Remus, and Peter made faces. They all knew Sirius wasn't happy at all, he had made that point pretty clear whenever he could in the previous hours. _

"_Well how did you respond to _that_?" Peter asked, giving him a knowing look._

"_Well, you all know what I really wanted to say, but instead I just told her I was but I'm overprotective." Sirius shrugged, sitting down next to Peter._

"_I can't believe you didn't tell her, she was practically asleep!" James exclaimed._

"_She was coherent enough to understand what I was saying and recognize my voice, James." Sirius shot him a look._

"_So the beast is more subdued when she's slumbering?" James raised an eyebrow, Remus threw a pillow at him._

"_She's not a beast, James." Remus said, indignant. "And she'd be so upset if someone she considered her friend called her that."_

"_I was joking, Moony!" James said, putting his hands in the air in surrender. _

"_You better be." Remus shook his fist._

_The boys then broke into laughter._

"Can I bombard you with questions?" Marlene asked.

Audrey shook her head. "Not here, I don't want any of them to vomit-"

"Aw, thanks, Audwee." Sirius grinned.

"stupidity." Audrey finished, smirking.

James jaw dropped and he whined. "What? We don't _vomit_ stupidity!"

"Well, let me correct myself, big brother. You and Sirius vomit stupidity-"

"And occasionally rainbows." added Marlene, remembering the prank the girls had pulled on Sirius and James last year.

"But Peter and Remus are the common sense of the group." Audrey said, grinning.

"Ta!" Peter and Remus said together.

"I hardly think that we vomit stupidity." James replied. "Granted we've done some odd things, but none of them were stupid."

Marlene and Audrey both put their hands on their hips, skeptical. At that moment, a tawny owl came flying through the open kitchen window and landed on Marlene's shoulder.

"Niko!" Audrey cooed, stroking the owl as he dropped a letter into Marlenes hand.

"Liiiiiiily?" James grinned.

"Well who else owns an owl named Niko?" Marlene snorted, opening the letter. "Lily and Sarah are coming in a few hours!"

The boys let out a whoop.

"Aw, I missed Huffapuffer. She's the only sane one out of your lot." Sirius said, pointing to Audrey and Marlene.

"Sarah is hardly sane, she just appears to be." Marlene grinned.

"Wasn't her camp not too far from yours?" Audrey asked, remembering one of Sarah's letters to her.

"Yeah, her camp was in South Yorkshire." Marlene nodded.

"Can't wait to exchange some steps then." Audrey grinned. "Darcy taught us something whacky and I can't wait to show you."

Marlene grinned at her, about to say something when James yawned loudly and yelled "I'M BORED!"

"Just like a Quidditch obsessed boy." Marlene clucked.

"Y'know what? That's a good idea, Marly. I'm going to go for a fly." James said, finishing his bowl of cereal.

"I second that!" Sirius slammed his hands on the table enthusiastically and got up.

"Thirds!" Peter yelled.

"Eh, fourth I guess." shrugged Remus. "Someone's gotta make sure these three don't do anything stupid."

As the boys had run upstairs, changed, and got their brooms, Mrs. Potter came bustling into the kitchen.

"Oh! Good morning, Audrey." Elly smiled kindly, and then turned to Marlene. "And you must be Marlene McKinnon!"

Marlene nodded, kissing Mrs. Potter on the cheek. "My mother sends her regards, and is wondering when you'll be playing cards with her and Mrs. Abbott again?"

"Oh of course! Sometime next week, I think. We're still working out the finer details, dear." Elly smiled. "Audrey, Marlene's room is right next to yours, would you like to show her where it is?"

"Sure, Elly!" Audrey grinned, taking one side of Marlene's trunk as she took the other.

"This way, Madame." Audrey said, imitating a hotel bellhop. She led the way, walking backwards up the stairs, while Marlene faced forward on the other side.

Audrey nearly jumped when she felt two hands wrap around her hips once she reached the hallway. She looked up.

"SIRIUS!"

"AUDREY!" He mimicked.

"Such a git." Marlene mumbled.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Audrey asked, horrified. She could feel his muscles only slightly, thanking Merlin for her long hair.

"Yes, Sirius." Marlene glared daggers at him, knowing what he was doing. "_Why_ aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"Well, I was just brushing my teeth and getting ready. That's all." Sirius said, innocently.

"And you're latching onto my hips because?" Audrey asked, trying to wiggle away from his grip, but she was a bit distracted having to hold Marlene's trunk and most of the weight in it.

**And she knew that I knew that it was an opportune moment. The thing was, with Audrey, you'd have to get her when she's preoccupied…otherwise, she'd try to break all of the bones in my body.**

_**I felt him shrug, his skin was warm, his breath tickled my neck. I tried to walk backwards, to finally help Marlene get her trunk to her room, but of course he wouldn't release me.**_

"Sirius, if you're going to walk with us, the least you can do is help with the trunk." Marlene hissed, annoyed.

**Marlene was the incredibly cunning best friend, she had called me out a few times privately on my antics with Audrey. She would call me out later that day about trying to tempt Audrey. And so the famous "Stop Trying To Tempt Her, She Has A Boyfriend" lecture would begin.**

"Can't do that, Marly." Sirius grinned.

"Why?" Audrey asked, looking up at him. She could only see his chin at his hair.

"Because I don't feel like it." Sirius replied smugly, as they had made their way to Marly's door.

_**Finally…some relief...**_

_Crash_.

**_Or so I thought._**

"Oof." Audrey groaned, she was sandwiched between Marlene's trunk and Sirius, and he still wouldn't let go.

"Sirius?" Audrey asked, looking up at him.

"Yes, love?"

"Can you let me go?"

"Nah."

"Why?"

"Don't feel like it, Russia."

"_Sirius_." Audrey whined, getting annoyed.

_**I could feel his chest rumble with laughter, my heart fluttered a bit.**_

"Sirius!" Marlene whined, impatient. He said nothing, but wore a smug grin. A grin that told Marlene '_What, are you going to say it right here?'_

Audrey, however, decided to try another approach. She had never done any magic without her hands, she couldn't…but she figured she'd give it a try.

_**I remember silently thinking to myself about the wind knocking Sirius out of our way…**_

The hallway window flew open quickly, Sirius, Marlene, and even Audrey looked at in in surprise. Then, out of nowhere, a huge gust of wind and a few leaves had flown directly at them. It skirted around Marlene, causing her hair to fly. It was coming directly at Audrey, but side swiped at the last moment, knocking Sirius off balance.

_**And so I was free**_.

Audrey pushed open Marlene's door with ease, and returned to her hotel bellhop voice.

"Your room, m'lady!" Audrey bowed in the doorway. Marlene laughed and closed the door behind them.

At the very same moment, James Potter walked into the hallway finding Sirius on the ground.

"All right there, mate?" James grinned.

"Of course." Sirius had a stupid grin on his face, a grin James wore when he saw Lily.

"Well then, let's go play some Quidditch, eh?"


	25. Chapter 25

Review please? :]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 25

"Finally." Marlene said, taking her head away from the door. Audrey and her had listened with their ears pressed, waiting for the boys to go downstairs and leave.

"Tell me about it, the last twenty four hours were odd being here without you, Lils, and Sarah. I felt so weird being out numbered."

"Eh, you could have taken those morons." Marlene said, waving her off. "How was it yesterday? What'd I miss?"

Audrey began to launch into a tale of what had happened after she had emerged from the Potters fireplace and Sirius' odd behavior.

"He carried me to my room last night, after I had fallen asleep."

"WHAT? Those gits actually let him take you upstairs?"

Audrey nodded.

"Did he try anything?"

"Not that I can remember, and I would have known. He just asked me if I hated him and I told him I didn't mean what I said when we were all outside in James' yard. But he doesn't think I remember, I told everyone this morning that I had a dream someone was talking to me. And now, today he's being super nice."

"…Probably because there hasn't been much mention of your boyfriend." Marlene grinned, bumping her hip.

"I suppose." Audrey mused. "Now tell me about camp!"

Marlene launched into a few stories about the witches and muggles at the camp, telling her about all the fun things they'd done and the rude girls here and there.

"Sounds intense, your legs look more jacked then the last time I saw you!" Audrey said, pointing to Marlene's legs.

"That's because literally from nine in the morning to six at night we had classes!" Marlene exclaimed. "It was madness. But yours are looking the same, and you grew! Did Darcy run you guys hard?"

Audrey groaned. "Yes, ridiculously. We had a two hour class the first day back, and then it went up to four hours the next day, then we topped off at eight every day. She's insane."

"Where'd you go in Russia?" Marlene asked, cocking her head.

"There's a Banshee colony not too far from the outskirts of the city, so I went there every other day early in the mornings. They don't do step as much as they do around here, they do a lot more barynya."

"Well it makes sense, you were in Russia after all." Marlene mused. "And if my memory serves me correctly, you were dancing barynya when you kissed Mr. Gregorovitch?"

Audrey giggled and nodded.

"_Dahnce_! The language of romance!" Marlene said grandly, imitating Madame Challier, one of the dance instructors at Hogwarts. Audrey laughed.

The girls had decided since the boys were playing Quidditch that they'd exchange some dance steps on the patio. They had nothing else to do while they waited around for Sarah and Lily.

In the distance, they heard the yells of the boys and laughter.

Marlene was showing Audrey a jig she had picked up at camp, a few tries later, Audrey had gotten it, and now she was showing Marlene a move that her friend Teagan had picked up and taught to her.

"Wait, what?" Marlene asked.

Audrey showed her the steps, slower.

"I don't know how Banshees do it, or you for that matter." Marlene laughed, attempting again.

"You've almost got it. Just need to put that foot back a bit more." Audrey pointed out.

"Yeah, Marly. You've almost got it." said Sirius coming out of nowhere, James and the others followed. All of them were sweating profusely.

"Shut it, Sirius. Or I'll step somewhere personal." Marlene shot at him.

"What, you're going to step dance on my face?" Sirius snorted, unimpressed.

"No." Marlene hissed, already annoyed with him enough.

"I think she means she's going to step somewhere else…" Audrey said, giving Sirius a look.

Sirius made a face, realizing what she meant. He looked horrified, but then he broke out into a grin. "Aw, Marly! You wouldn't do that."

"I will if you keep bugging me." Marlene replied, an evil grin crossing her face. Audrey laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean, Marly?" Sirius whined.

"It means, you guys can get on my nerves sometimes." Marlene replied calmly.

"I thought you loved us." James whined. "We're not _that_ annoying."

"Yes you are." said a familiar voice.

Lily Evans was now walking out onto the patio, putting an arm around Marlene and Audrey, the three exchanged a smirk. Sarah York came out next.

"PUFFER!" The boys yelled excitedly, bombarding her with hugs.

"What's all this chatter about? You guys just now realized that you can be annoying?" Sarah grinned at the boys, then made her way over to her three other friends.

"Puffer, you too?" James whined.

"I thought you loved us, Huffapuff!" Peter smirked.

"Yeah, _Sarah_." Remus teased.

"Firstly, I love how Remus is the only one of you lot that calls me by my name, secondly, yes, you all can be gits from time to time."

"Well, you lot aren't so high and mighty yourself!" James retorted.

"Yeah! You act like youre all so innocent. Your bloody dancing and giggling gets on our nerves." Sirius added.

"And you act like you're so smart." Peter chimed in.

"Yeah!" James jeered.

The four girls exchanged glances, knowing glances. Marlene and Audrey seemed to read each others minds.

"Marly, I've got an idea." Audrey whispered.

"I think I know where you're going with this." She whispered back, then raised her voice, addressing everyone.

"Audrey and I are going to go leave you lot alone and help Lils and Sarah get situated in their rooms. We'll meet you back inside in a bit."

"Fine by me." James grumbled. The other boys nodded, and turned their backs to the girls to go back to their Quidditch match.

The girls quickly and quietly went inside, took Lily and Sarah's trunks upstairs, and had what they liked to call a "Group Conference" in Sarah's room.

"What are you plotting?" Sarah asked, closing the door and sitting on the bed.

"They think we're so annoying. I say we show them what they look like to us." Audrey smirked.

"I was thinking along the same lines." Marlene smirked, giving Audrey a high five.

"So you mean to say, we're going to mimick them?" Lily asked, placing a finger on her lips, in thought.

"Mhm." Marlene had an evil glint in her eye.

"_Oooh_! I love dress up!" Sarah squealed. "I want to be Peter."

"I'll be Remus." Marlene grinned.

"I'll take Sirius." Audrey stood triumphantly.

"I guess I'm stuck with James then." Lily had an odd grin on her face. The others knew they'd enjoy this.

"I suppose we should steal some stuff then…" Marlene said, casually opening the door.

"I suppose you're right. Got to be quick and clean though, we cant ransack their stuff otherwise they'll get us back good." Sarah said.

"Righto!" Audrey replied, mimicking Sirius' strut exactly and walking out the door. Lily followed, imitating James' strut, Marlene walked out with dignity just like Remus, and Sarah scampered out like Peter would.

The first of the boys' rooms was James' and they went through a few of his clothes to find something for Lily to wear.

"This!" Sarah said, holding up James Quidditch jersey and some of his old jeans.

"And these!" Audrey said, finding a pair of James' old glasses that he'd grown out of.

"But wait, what will I do with my hair?" Lily bit her lip.

"We'll figure that out after everyone else's outfits are picked." Marlene replied, in a Remus like manner and walked out of James door.

"Onto the next room!" Audrey drawled, like Sirius would and strutted.

"Excalibur!" Sarah squeaked, Peter had never said that but she figured he would.

The next room was Peter's and the outfit for Sarah was by far the easiest. Peter always dressed simply, and the girls had picked out a Gryffindor teeshirt and some muggle cargo shorts.

After Peter's room, came Sirius' and of course it was a little messy.

"Typical." Audrey snorted as they entered the room.

"What to pick for you…" Marlene said, lurking around the room.

"How about we keep it simple?" Sarah suggested, picking up a white v-neck and some dark blue jeans.

"That'll work!" said Lily, holding up a beanie. "And this, for Audrey's hair."

Sirius seldom wore hats, but Audrey had too much hair to hide in order to imitate him as close to perfection as possible. All the girls were going for that.

Finally, they had reached Remus' room, unlike the other three boys, his was the most tidy and organized. They went through his trunk delicately and picked out a three quarter sleeved cream shirt and a black vest. Audrey had found a pair of slacks to go with them.

"I think we're ready, girls…" Lily grinned.

"Don't you mean _boys_?" Sarah asked.

"Yes." Lily replied awkwardly as the four made their way to Marlene's room. Every girl had brought their make up and other various items. They wanted to be as authentic as possible.

_**Before any of us could change, we had to make a few alterations…**_

Marlene whipped out some gauze bandages, and pointed at her chest "Gonna need to tape these down."

The girls nodded in agreement, it was rather difficult, and they ended up having to help each other and use Spello-tape to make sure the bandages didn't fall.

"Last thing any of us need is a nip slip in front of James or Sirius." Sarah muttered. The other girls murmured in agreement.

For extra measure, Audrey, Lily, and Marlene had taped wads of cloth on their shoulders to make them look broader. As for their hair, Sarah had shoved her hair into a ponytail on the crown of her head and let it fall all around in a circular motion. Her hair was so thin that this worked for her, and you could barely see the pump from where her hairtie was under all of her hair.

"Woah." All the girls said, looking at Sarah. In the distance, she really did look like a boy, like a smaller version of Peter.

Marlene had a little more difficulty with her hair, and the girls had decided to improvise and borrow some hair products that surprisingly were in James bathroom.

_**It made me wonder if James' signature messy hair was really messy or if he used gel…or if Sirius had rubbed off on him in some way.**_

They borrowed a bottle of Warlock's Hair Gel and Marlene slicked her hair back, keeping her bangs forward in a decent imitation of Remus Lupin.

Audrey used the beanie that Lily had picked out, managing to shove most of her hair into it. Enough was hanging out so that it swept across her forehead slightly and stuck out on both sides.

_**For an imitation of James Potter…well that was going to be difficult seeing as Lily had firey red hair.**_

"Hey Moony, hey Peter!" Audrey mimicked Sirius' voice, and sauntered over to the other two girls. "Where's my man crush James Potter?"

"Being a git and primping himself up in the bathroom." Sarah answered, mimicking Peter.

"I am not!" Lily replied in a James-like voice. "My hair's perfect for once and I hate it because I'm a snotty Quidditch player!"

"Oh!" Sarah as Peter replied.

Lily strutted out of the bathroom, just as James would. Even with the added shoulders, James' Quidditch jersey was ridiculously long on her.

She had managed to slick her hair up and around her head using the Warlock's gel and colored it using some black hair grease she'd found in James' bathroom. Why it was there, the girls didn't know.

"I think we're ready, gents!" Audrey said, adjusting her v-neck.

"The girls are downstairs, I can hear them…those obnoxious _witches_." Sarah crinkled her nose. "Lils- er, I mean, _James_, go first. It's your house after all."

The others agreed and pushed Lily towards the door, they made their way down the hallway. The boys had to be in the living room, which was closest to the stairs.

_Creak_.

"Oi, Girls! Are you coming down yet?" James called.

At the top of the stairs, out of their view, the girls exchanged grins and Marlene spoke in her normal voice.

"Yeah, buddy. We'll be down in a second."

"_Buddy_? What where you girls even doing up there anyway?" James called back.

"Oh, you know." Marlene replied, a smirk on her face that the girls nearly broke into giggles over. "Nothing really, just girl things."

With that, Lily strutted down the stairs.

"What the-?" James begin. Sirius, Peter, and Remus began to howl with laughter. Peter fell off the couch. "What is this?"

"I'm James Potter, and I'm so awesome, I'm the _youngest_ guy on the Quidditch team." Lily said, looking triumphant, just like James.

James laughed a bit.

"She's pretty good, mate." Sirius grinned, elbowing him.

At that moment, Audrey decided to strut down the stair case.

"Oh…my…merlin." Remus grinned, seeing Audrey first.

"What, Moony?" Sirius was confused.

"Turn around, Sirius."

Audrey came down and stood next to Lily, just as Sirius would, she put an arm around "James".

"What is this?" Sirius exclaimed, half amused and half shocked.

"I'm Sirius Black, man. Who are you?" Audrey replied incredulously, she then turned to Lily. "James, who are these blokes?"

"I don't know, man." Lily replied. "They're awfully hideous."

"They're like us, but the _troll _versions." Audrey said, in a Sirius-like manner. She even cringed in the right way.

**I was actually **_**really **_**impressed.**

"Yo, Remus!" Lily called up the stairs. "Check these guys out, they look just like us."

"Except they're not dashing like we are. Not at all. I mean…I just cant get over how bloody hideous they are." Audrey chimed in, mimicking Sirius once more.

"Really?" Marlene replied, coming down the stairs. "How fascinating."

Remus began to chuckle, Sirius and James wore identical expressions of shock. Their mouths were open in perfect O's.

"Where's Pete?" Lily as James said, turning her head.

"I'm coming!" Sarah yelled, running down the stairs and purposely tripping. The real Peter laughed, James and Sirius howled with laughter, and Remus shook his head amused.

"What is this?" Sirius asked.

"What is what?" Audrey replied, still in character.

"Well, if you were the real Sirius Black…" Sirius began, but Audrey cut him off.

"I am the real Sirius Black."

"No, you're not."

"I am the real Sirius Black." Audrey repeated again. "I've shagged every girl in Ravenclaw house _except _for the underclassmen."

James roared with laughter. Marlene sat down at the couch and picked up a book purposely reading it upside down.

"Remus, what are you doing?" James asked, still shaking with laughter.

"I'm reading, sir." Marlene replied, not looking up from the book.

"Upside down?" Peter asked.

"Yes, I'm so smart I read everything backwards and upside down because I can dicipher it easily." Marlene replied.

Sarah as Peter was rolling around on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked, taking his eyes off of Audrey for a moment.

"What aren't I doing?" Sarah as Peter replied, still rolling.

"So what's this all about?" James asked, confused.

"Whats this bloke talking about, Sirius?" Lily asked Audrey.

"I don't know, James. I think that guy in the spectacles is jealous of your mighty Quidditch skills and is trying to impersonate you." Audrey replied, smirking.

"Wow…I must be a Quidditch _god_." Lily replied, in mock-awe.

"You are, James." Audrey replied, looking at Lily. "And I'm so gay for you."

"Oh good, because I'm in love with you too." Lily replied.

The real James and Sirius both made gagging noises as Remus and Peter were hysterically laughing.

"But I thought you liked that muggle ginger." Sarah as Peter called to James.

"Oh, yeah. Evans…yeah, but she's too good for me." Lily said.

"Yeah, every girl I've ever met is too good for me." Audrey said, then turned to James. "That's why I love you, mate!"

"I know, Sirius. We're _so _wonderful!" Lily as James said.

"I like peas!" Sarah squeaked as Peter, still rolling around on the floor.

"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP!" Marlene as Remus growled. "I'M A _WEREWOLF _TRYING TO _READ_!" She threw down her book and stormed upstairs.

"Remus, come back! I love you!" Audrey as Sirius called, running up the stairs after her.

"Sirius?" Lily as James said, sad. "I thought you loved _me_!" She bellowed, following the others.

Sarah as Peter sprung up from the floor and looked at the boys. "Bye strange people!" She then scampered up the stairs.


	26. Chapter 26

Another funny one, slightly dirty. :X  
>We're moving along again!<p>

Many thanks for the reviews, Snarkilicious, JulesDragonlady, Masterofbugs123, Weasleytwinslover87, LizziePixie-Aiko, PintoNess, Madmad237, SuperNovaWriter, Kankananime123, and Sarah Liz B! :D

I think that's the most reviews I've gotten for this story at one time so far… :P Much appreciated!

Review please? :]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 26

The four boys sat there, mouths agape, the first to speak was Remus.

"I'm not sure what just happened."

"I think that was their interpretation of us…" James mused. "Evans looks _good _in my Quidditch jersey."

Peter, Remus, and Sirius simultaneously smacked their palms to their foreheads.

"What?" James exclaimed, and then turned to Sirius. "I saw you smirk when _Audrey _strode down in _your _shirt."

"I did not." Sirius denied.

"You did." Remus and Peter said together. Sirius shot them a look and they both shrugged and looked away.

"Well anyway, I think it was just their interpretation of us." said Peter casually. "They were just blowing off some steam, I think we forget sometimes that we are so different from them."

"Agreed." interjected Remus. "How we're all even friends is a wonder, we're all very, very different."

"Well, I say we get them back." Sirius stood.

"Why is it that we must always get them back?" Remus asked, shaking his head.

"Why can't we be diplomatic for once?"

"Why are you such a _grandpa_, Moony?" Sirius whined.

"They are some of our only good friends, if we do something _incredibly _stupid this time they may not forgive us." Remus said flatly.

"And what even did you have in mind, Sirius?" James chimed in. "We have _other _things to worry about right now."

**James of course was referencing to our research on animagi, he, Peter, and I were planning on doing the transformation sometime that year if we were lucky. It was going to be a surprise for Remus.**

"I was thinking we do to them what they did to us." Sirius replied, crossing his arms. "Might as well play fair, like old man Remus said."

"It's an excellent idea-" Remus began in deep thought.

"But I really don't want to dress in drag!" James whined.

"Who said we had to dress in drag?" Sirius smirked, a glint in his eyes.

"You've got my attention then." Remus said, intrigued.

"Come on over, gents." Sirius motioned for them to come closer. "Gather around and listen to my plan."

Upstairs, the four girls were discarding the boys clothes. Lily and Marlene had taken to the bathrooms to wash the hair product from their heads. Sarah and Audrey had decided to put all the clothes back that they borrowed and change into normal clothing.

"I'm not going to lie, your Peter impression was priceless." Audrey laughed, as they put back the clothes Lily had borrowed from James into his dresser.

"And your Sirius was spot on! His face when you told him you were Sirius Black…I wish I had a camera." Sarah grinned, as they headed back to Audrey's room to wait for the other two.

"I finally got the stuff out of my hair!" Lily exclaimed, walking into the room with a towel on her hair. "It took forever, so much scrubbing."

"It was probably that grease." Sarah reasoned, as Marlene came in the room as well.

"Yeah, but it was so worth it." Marlene said, taking the towel from her hair and draping it over her arm. "Are we going in James' pool at all?

"I don't think we should." Lily said. "For all we know they could try to get us back in there."

"So then what do we do now?" Audrey asked. "We can't stay up here all day."

"Who says we can't?" Sarah replied.

"Huh, that is true." Marlene replied. "Why don't we catch up on all of our summers then? I'm a bit scared to go downstairs alone."

"I'm scared to use the loo alone…you know how boys and bathrooms work." Sarah said, cringing. The girls laughed.

They had spent a majority of the afternoon talking about anything and everything, from the bitchy girls at Marlene's step camp, to the odd teachers at Sarah's camp, to Audery's sporadic cello lessons with her Uncle Ivan, to Lily's insufferable sister Petunia. They spoke of Karl, grilling Audrey for every possible detail, and they wouldn't leave Sarah alone about a boy she had met who went to Beauxbatons.

"Where did you meet him?" Marlene exclaimed, excited.

"Our camp was taking a trip, and his family was visiting England. We met at a café in the city. He said he knew I was a witch right away, and he pulled out his wand!"

The other three burst into laughter, Lily's face was red, Marlene was laughing so hard tears fell.

"Get your minds out of the gutters! You're turning into _them_." Sarah said, jerking her head in the direction of the stairs. They could faintly hear the boys.

"I'm sorry." Audrey said between laughs. "That was too funny."

Meanwhile, a few doors down, James, Remus, and Peter sat on Sirius' bed in a straight line. Sirius was walking back and forth like a drill sergeant, using a blackboard they'd found in James attic to illustrate their plan.

"Alright, who's going to ask them then?" James asked.

"Remus!" Peter and Sirius said together.

"Why me?" Remus said, surprised. Though he was greatly amused by Sirius' plan, he really didn't want to do this. _Really_.

"Because they trust you the most!" James said, as if it were obvious.

"Ugh…" Remus said, getting up and making his way for the door. He turned before he opened it, and said. "Sirius, If I die because of this I'll come back and kill you."

"Love you too, Moony!" Sirius called down the hallway as Remus left, making his way to the other side. He followed the noise of the girls' laughter.

_Knock, knock._

"Come in…" Audrey said, a little perplexed.

Remus walked in to find all the girls with random objects to use as weapons incase the boys retaliated. He held his arms up in surrender.

"I'm not here for pranking. However, the boys feel that you might get them again so they decided to send me over to ask you if you want to rendezvous in the pool in a half an hour."

The girls raised their eyebrows, exchanging glances.

"We'll agree to this rendezvous, assuming that you are the liason, Remus." Lily replied, diplomatically.

"But if anything goes wrong…" Marlene grumbled, giving Remus a look.

"I know, Marly. I know." Remus replied, lying easily. He hated lying, but if he exposed the prank the others would be furious. He just hoped it wouldn't be too bad, or too extreme, he'd missed the finer details of Sirius' rather long game plan.

After Remus had left the room, and made his way down the hallway back to Sirius' bedroom where the others waited with huge grins.

"Are we all set?" James asked, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

"Yes." Remus sighed, nervous.

"Why so nervous, Moony?" Sirius asked, concerned. "It's not like we haven't done anything this crazy with them before. I mean…the Black Lake."

"Yes, Sirius. But that was the Black Lake…obviously called that because you can't see a damn thing." Remus snapped.

"Alright, Moony. Merlin, we'll be careful. I promise." James said.

The girls shared one bathroom, as the guys did. After they had changed they met in the bathroom to fix their hair, and for other reasons.

"Group huddle." Sarah whispered, before they fixed their hair.

"Alright, theyre definitely up to something, there's no question about it." Marlene hissed.

"Especially seeing as they sent Remus…they were obviously trying to throw us off." Lily snorted.

"They're probably going to do something to the water." Audrey said.

"But what?" asked Sarah, looking around at the others. They all shrugged.

"We'll just have to be on our guard." Lily said, her green eyes narrowing.

The girls nodded and broke apart, fixing their hair. Audrey had pulled Marlene's thick blonde hair back into two French braids, Lily shoved her hair up into a sloppy bun that worked for her, Audrey had two small braids on the side of her head which met into a pony tail. It kept all of her long black hair out of her face.

"Merlin, Audrey you could make a long wool coat!" Sarah exclaimed, holding up a stray piece of Audrey's long hair that had fallen off. "It's ridiculously thick!"

"Banshee hair, got it from my mum." Audrey grumbled. "Its incredibly stubborn. You could light my head on fire and nothing would happen, literally."

"Well at least we know what to use to put out a fire if we ever have one." Marlene joked, tugging lightly on Audrey's pony tail.

"Yup!" Audrey nodded, putting the finishing touches on Sarah's hair, a braided bun.

The four gave each other knowing looks and left the bathroom, making their way down James' staircase with their towels. The sun was lowering slowly in the sky, not quite setting yet.

They were the first outside it seemed, and they set their towels down on some of the chairs near the pool. Lily decided that she would examine the water first.

"There's nothing wrong with my pool, Evans." James called, running and jumping in, causing a huge splash.

"Fine." Lily huffed, jumping in next. Audrey and Marlene exchanged looks, and back flipped into the pool. Sarah followed by yelling "Whee!" and jumping in after, making everyone laugh at her cuteness.

Remus slipped in easily, without making so much noise. Peter somehow managed to trip and fall in. Sirius, being just as obnoxious as James, ran, back flipped, and jumped in.

_**He was such a show off sometimes…**_

After a bunch of splashing and fooling around, the boys jumped out of the pool, claiming they were going to get some water from inside.

_**And that's when it all started.**_

None of the girls had noticed it at first, but one by one, the boys had made off with their towels. They didn't really notice anything else until Sarah suddenly shrieked.

"_What_?" Marlene asked, alarmed.

"I can't find my top."

"You can't find _what_?" Audrey hissed.

"My bikini top, it's gone." Sarah said, crossing her arms over her chest, she was mortified. No one could blame her for that.

"Maybe it slid off?" Lily supplied. "I'll go under and check."

"I'll go too." Marlene said, going under after Lily. James pool only had one dim light in it that illuminated the water slightly.

"Sarah?" Audrey asked, in the dark.

"Yes?"

"I don't think this is a coincidence."

"Why?"

"My top's gone too." Audrey replied, wide eyed, now crossing her arms over her chest.

Marlene and Lily came up seconds later, with similar looks of shock on their faces.

"VERY FUNNY, YOU GITS." Marlene yelled, crossing her arms.

"And the water's cold!" Sarah yelled right after her, prompting the boys to burst out laughing and the girls to give her odd looks. After a moment of silence, she yelled again. "And everyone in this house needs to get their minds out of the gutter, you're all ridiculous."

"You set yourself up for that one, Puffer." James replied, casually strolling out with a white towel around his waste. He was eating an apple.

"JAMES POTTER." Lily snarled, piecing it together. James grinned, unfurling one of his hands to reveal Lily's top.

_**It was so simple that we hadn't even thought of it, we were so used to their pranks being so elaborate that we didn't expect it at all.**_

Sirius arrogantly strode out next, with Audrey's towel around his waist and her blue bathing suit top in one hand.

"I rather like this color." Sirius said, holding it up. "It brings out your eyes."

"My eyes are brown you tosser." Audrey said, giving him a look.

"I never said they were blue, love. But it's true, this is a nice color, suits you well." Sirius was smug.

"Will you stop being a kiss ass, Sirius?" Marlene called.

"I'm not being a kiss ass, Marly! I'm being _genuine_." Sirius replied with innocence.

Audrey rolled her eyes and muttered. "Pervert."

At that moment, Remus strode out, half grinning and half feeling sorry for them.

"Reeeemus!" Sarah whined.  
>"Not you too!" Marlene whined, noticing he had her top and towel.<br>Audrey began to hit her head lightly on the side of the pool.

Sirius walked forward to stop her but she pushed off the wall with her legs, her arms still crossed. She glared at him and he smirked.

_**Sirius was doing a very typical Sirius thing, where he'd tease, then tease again by trying to be kind. He liked to play with his prey before trying to go in for the kill.**_

**She wasn't stupid, that's what I liked about her, really. One of the many things…**

Last, but not least, Peter waltzed out holding Sarah's top.

"Peter, I will kill you in your sleep." Sarah grumbled.  
>"Nice try, Puffer." Peter laughed. "You couldn't kill a pixy."<p>

"Because it's cruel." Audrey mumbled.  
>"Enough with the creature rights, Audwee. You're ruining our fun." James whined.<p>

"Oh, I'm sorry. Us being _topless _and _towel-less _wasn't fun enough for you?" Audrey cocked her head.

"No, well there's more." James said, triumphantly throwing on Lily's bikini top at the same time as his friends.

"Ew!" Sarah called out, sticking out her tongue.  
>"Well, now we're going to have to burn our bathing suits." Marlene crinkled her nose in disgust.<p>

"Ooh! I'm Marly and I'm disgusted by everything considered fun!" Remus imitated in a girly voice. The girls had to laugh a bit, it was rare to see a goofy Remus.

"I'm Sarah! And I'm a Hufflepuff because I'm cute and a push over!" Peter pranced around.

James flung off his glasses in a far too sexy manner. "I'm Lily Evans! And I'm a ginger…who's _smart_!"

"And I'm Audrey Dalio." Sirius chimed in a girly voice, with a heavy Russian accent. "I'm too good for English boys."

Audrey's mouth formed a perfect O, quite shocked by that. Marlene shot her an interesting look, a look she only shot her when she was tallying off things for the _'Sirius wants you'_ argument. Something Audrey had often denied.

Peter decided to skip around as Sarah would, Remus had done a perfect imitation of angry Marlene by crossing his arms and wearing an expression of annoyance, yelling at imaginary versions of James and Sirius. James was flicking his non-existent long mane and talking to an imaginary Severus, who he had rudely still called Snivellus. And Sirius had mimicked Audrey by batting his eyelashes several times (as if he didn't do that himself!) and playing an imaginary cello.

After a good twenty minutes of parading around, Sirius flirting with an imaginary Karl and saying the _worst _things possible, Remus, Sirius, and Peter mimicking irish step, and James sticking his head in a book, Marlene shouted. "Alright! Alright! We get it! You're even! Can we have our towels back?"

James, Sirius, and Peter didn't respond, but Remus did by removing Marlene's towel and holding it out for her to quickly jump out of the pool and shield herself. He wrapped it around her quickly without looking.

_**Remus was probably the only one of the four that was constantly a gentleman, the others…well, it took some fine grooming.**_

"Thank you, Remus." Marlene said quietly, her blue eyes soft.

"Anytime." He replied, going with her inside.

James snorted, rolling his eyes.

**The way those two looked at each other, well, we always teased Moony about it. As his best friends, we knew all and saw all.**

"Well?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow at the remaining three. Peter caved first, going to the edge of the pool and placing Sarah's towel there. She maneuvered herself out of the pool without exposing anything and walked inside. Peter shrugged, following, mumbling that he ought to apologize.

It was now only Lily and Audrey.

**We decided to toy with them a bit more…**

Sirius and James sat on the tiny stone wall a few feet away from the pool, the girls' towels in their laps. They just stared at them, with huge grins on their faces.

_**We were out there an extra ten minutes, waiting.**_

"This is why I date boys _outside _of England." Audrey said, giving Sirius a look that said. _'Seeing as you mocked me for it…_'

"Oh really, Russia? Do elaborate." James replied in fascination, he folded his hands.

"Well." Audrey began, coming closer to the pools edge. The siding covered her so she could rest her arms on the ground and lean. "Karl wouldn't make me wait this long to get my top back."

"Are you insinuating that Karl, your perfect man, would actually do something like your silly English male friends? Such as this prank?" Sirius asked, mocking yet surprised.

Audrey gave off a smirk he couldn't define. "What happens in St. Petersburg is a lot different then what happens in England…"

**Touché. I suppose.**

Sirius approached the pool, towards the ladder, holding out Audrey's towel in surrender. Audrey was skeptical, but covered herself with one arm, and used the other for balance to get out of the pool. Once out, she used both arms once more.

**She was such a prude! …Then again, when I said that to James later that evening he replied with "Well, mate. She's one of the only girls who isn't **willingly **going to flash you."**

Sirius faced her, still holding out the outstretched towel. He looked in the other direction, turning his head and wrapping the towel around her shoulders gently.

"_Spasibo_, Sirius." Audrey smiled, giving him a friendly peck on the cheek and taking her bikini top back as she walked back into the house. His heart raced.

He followed her, James and Lily weren't far behind.

* * *

"You have to admit, it was pretty funny." James said, munching on a pumpkin pasty and glancing out the window of the Hogwarts Express. They had just left Kings Cross only twenty minutes before.

"It wasn't when I thought my tits were going to fall off." Marlene replied, making a face. "Your pool was freezing!"

The boys laughed, and the girls did too but gave Marlene looks.

"What? You all were thinking it too, except for Audrey probably."

"Why's that?" Sirius asked, confused.

"My body temperature is about fifteen degrees higher than a humans." Audrey replied casually.

"That explains why youre always so warm…" James mused.

"You're like a space heater!" Peter exclaimed, they laughed.

"So, it really wasn't that bad then." James said, referring back to the prank.

"Well, it was pretty awful. I mean looking back its funny, but at the time…" Audrey trailed off.

"At the time I thought we were going to have to kill you." Lily grumbled, she was the only one still a bit angry about it. She hadn't lightened up, especially around James. The imitations she didn't mind, but taking her top was a violation. It wasn't as if James had seen anything.

"Oh lighten up, Lils." Sirius said, resting his head in his hands.

"So what do you think the letter meant when it said that this year of school was going to be different?" Remus asked, deciding to change the topic.

"I don't know, Moony." Sirius replied thoughtfully.

"Perhaps they'll be changing the curriculum." Lily said excitedly, Remus agreed that it was a possibility.

"You guys are such bookworms!" James groaned hitting his head on the wall.

"Well, James. What do you think it'll be?" Audrey asked, curious.

"I don't know, I was thinking perhaps new textbooks or something new with the Quidditch pitch-"

"Of course!" Marlene said in the background.

"but you know how our teachers are, anything _new _and _different _is usually _educational_." James finished, doing jazz hands to emphasize the last word further.


	27. Chapter 27

There's an authors note at the bottom in reference to this chapter…I can't say it up here otherwise it'd be a spoiler for the whole chapter! :X

I'm publishing 28 right after this! I've been writing lately, but writing ahead. I've written out a few of the key scenes for this story already, also some Deleted Scenes have been started. :]

Thanks for the reviews, Kankananime123, PintoNess, Madmad237, Weasleytwinslover87, JulesDragonlady, and Sarah Liz B! :]

A review would be most appreciated. ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 27

As always, halfway through the ride Audrey and Lily left to find Severus. In the last two years they had decided that they'd spend half of the train ride with their Gryffindor friends and the other half with Severus. Maksim, the fourth year who spoke Russian with Audrey from time to time joined them as well.

From the time they made their way off the train, all the way through the carriage rides, and all the way into the school, all they heard was talk about changes at Hogwarts.

"Honestly, it's probably just a change in staff." Severus said, slightly annoyed with all of the students chattering around it.

"I don't know, Severus." Lily replied, in thought. "We've had a new DADA teacher every year and they never mentioned it in the letter before."

"Ooh! Maybe they're resorting for giggles!" Audrey chimed in, spinning around for no reason. She was happy to return to Hogwarts, Severus raised an eyebrow. "And then Severus could be a Gryffindor and stop hanging around those soon-to-be-Death-Eaters!"

"Not all of Slytherin house-" Severus began but the girls shot him a look that said it all.

"Alright, alright. You've made your point." Severus said, putting his hands up in mock surrender.

The crowd finally started moving into the great hall and the three said their quick good byes and headed off to their house tables. They would catch up in the library and in the courtyards, as they always did.

"Why do you even bother with that git?" James asked the two as they sat down on either side of him.

_**Bad idea.**_

Both Audrey and Lily elbowed James simultaneously.

"_Ow_!"

Lily added in an extra elbow, she was still holding a slight grudge about their prank.

After a particularly long Sorting Hat song, which Sirius let out a loud snore for humor, and the Sorting, the Headmaster took to his podium for announcements.

"Welcome! To those of you who have been here before, welcome back for another exciting and new year at Hogwarts. For those of you who haven't been here, welcome!…"

Sirius mouthed _'Blah…Blah…Blah…' _to his friends as the Headmaster went over the general stuff, curfew, safety, etc.

"And now, as I'm sure you're all wondering…"

Everyone instantly perked up, listening intently. Dumbledore looked amused.

"Hogwarts will be different this year from our usual routines…" He said, now pacing on the platform. "We will be hosting two schools this year."

Everyone's mouths dropped.

"What schools do you think they'll be?" Marlene whispered.

"Salem?" Peter suggested. "I've got a cousin in the States."

"Maybe the Brazilian Wizards Institute?" James said.

"This year at Hogwarts will be all about international magical relations, and so I have invited the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic-"

Audrey, Lily, and Marlene looked across at the Hufflepuff table where Sarah sat. They grinned at each other and she gave them a thumbs up.

"and the Durmstrang Institute to join us this year."

Lily and Marlene gave Audrey nudges, grinning and giggling.

Sirius exchanged a look with James and they both groaned in frustration.

**I groaned because I'd be around the git that stole Audrey from me all year, _James_ groaned because he'd have to put up with my complaining about it.**

"Your classes will not only be mixed by houses this year, but by schools, you may not have some of the same teachers you would normally have. That is what inter-magical relations is all about, new experiences, and a strong sense of community among us all. There will be several activities planned on the weekends, fourth years and above will be allowed to attend a Yule Ball we are holding over Christmas break this year."

"Oooh! A ball!" Marlene chirped. "That'll be fun."

"I can't wait to go dress shopping." Audrey grinned.

"Our guests should be arriving soon, and as you can see, we've extended the house tables. The dormitories have been enlarged as well, they will not be sorted, but they will chose which houses they want to stay in. While they are here, in their first few weeks, I ask that you be on your best behavior and help your fellow witches and wizards."

Outside of the great hall, there was the din of chatter and the Headmaster walked off of the podium and made his way to the large oak doors of the Great Hall. He opened them, and all of the students turned to see a flurry of teenagers. A majority of boys wore ushanka and the typical brown Durmstrang uniform, which resembled a soilder's. Sven and Karl had always told Audrey about how much they hated the uniforms.

"Why are they wearing those furry hats?" Peter whispered. "It's _September_!"

Beauxbatons had come in first, and Audrey spotted her cousins, Hans and Peter easily, they looked like their typical selves. They looked around the Hogwarts student body, surveying them. They could give Sirius and James a run for their galleons. As the Beauxbatons students began to disperse and look for houses to sit with, Audrey called them.

"Petro! Hans!" Audrey called, her cousins turned, waved, and made their way to Gryffindor table.

"Zdravstvujtye Audrina!" Hans grinned, sitting across from his cousin and next to Marlene. "Who are your beautiful friends here?" He motioned at Marlene and Lily who were giggling.

"Obviously not interested in you, Hans." Petro replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Guys, these are my cousins. Hans and Petro." Audrey said, pointing at each, respectively.

**They all looked similar, they had the same brown eyes and pale complexions. Though Hans had light brown hair, and Petro had dark hair, but not quite as dark as Audrey's. I wouldn't have thought they were cousins until she'd mentioned it. I think I was so on edge about seeing Karl that I simply forgot that she had cousins.**

"That's Lily, Marlene, Remus, Peter, James, and Sirius." Audrey said, pointing to her friends respectively.

"We share a name, yes?" Petro turned to Peter. Peter grinned and nodded, they high fived.

"That is going to be so confusing this year." James tutted.

"Not really." Audrey shrugged, pointing at Peter. "He's _Pee-ter_, and he's _Pet-ro_." She pointed at her cousin.

"Not too difficult, James." Marlene agreed.

"Where's Chantal?" Audrey asked, looking at her cousins.

"BLONDIE!" Hans yelled. About forty different girls from Hogwarts and Beauxbatons turned around.

"_VEELA _BLONDIE!" Petro clarified, Chantal came skipping over.

"_Audreeeeeeey_!" She squealed excitedly, running over and hugging her. "We're going to be school mates this year!"

Marlene nudged Peter to stop drooling over Chantal as she sat down in between Hans and Petro.

Audrey looked over at the Hufflepuff table and saw Sarah sitting next to a boy with light blonde and blue eyes. They were grinning and laughing.

"Guuuys! Look!" Audrey squealed, pointing over to the Hufflepuff table.

"Aww! Puffer!" Sirius cooed.

"So what year are you guys in?" James asked, conversationally, turning to Chantal, Petro, and Hans.

"Fourth." Chantal replied, holding up four fingers.  
>"Fifth." said Petro.<br>"Sixth." Hans grinned.

"Ah, so you won't be dorming on our level then." Sirius said sadly, he had a feeling they were similar to him and James. He could just tell.

"No." Hans sighed. "But we'll be around." He wore a mischievous grin.

_**Having those four together would prove to be incredibly interesting…**_

"Audrey, what are the dance facilities like?" Chantal asked, her eyes flickering around the room, looking for boys of course.

"They're quite spacious, Chantal. We should be fine accommodating more dancers." She said, nudging her.

The Durmstrang boys came in next, they were very stiff and uniform, but were allowed to break off and join tables.

Sven had spotted Audrey instantly and Karl followed him as the two walked over. Sirius watched a huge smile spread across Audrey's face and his heart sank. He recognized Karl right away once he took off his hat, and without hesitation he scooped Audrey into his arms and kissed her.

**I thought I was going to explode. James, Remus, and Peter made a bet to see how long it'd be that I could handle this.**

"So is it safe to assume that _that's _your boyfriend?" Lily teased as Audrey and Karl broke away from each other and sat down. Audrey blushed and Karl grinned.

"Karl, this is Lily, Marlene, Remus, Peter, James, and Sirius." Audrey said, pointing at her friends, respectively.

_**I noticed Sirius and James wearing identical looks of suspicion as they shook Karl's hand**_.

"Is there a problem?" Karl laughed, looking at the two.

"Audrey's like our sister, mate." James began.  
>"And if you hurt her, you won't live to see your seventeenth birthday." Sirius glared.<p>

"Alright, gents. I promise I will not hurt Audrey." Karl said evenly, grinning.

"Plus, our grandfather has given poor Karl enough talks to last him for the next seventy years." Petro piped in.  
>"And so have we." Hans said, crossing his arms and giving Karl a mean look. They stared at each other for a few seconds then burst into laughter.<p>

"And this is my best friend, Sven." Audrey said, noticing he had already introduced himself to Chantal, and seemed to be hitting it off wonderfully. She went through the process of introducing everyone again and then the feast had appeared.

"So why didn't you tell me when you wrote me last week?" Audrey nudged Karl by bumping his shoulder slightly. He grinned sheepishly.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. _Sven _almost spoiled it though." Karl replied, shooting Sven a dirty look.

"I'm sorry. I just thought Audrey should know she'd be spending a lot of time with us this year. I'm quite excited for it, really." He said while chewing on some bread. "You do realize, Karl, that we'll be spending the entire year together?"

"Of course I realize that, Sven." Karl said flatly, rolling his eyes.

"So.." James began, casually looking at the two. "What year are you guys in?"

"Fifth." said Karl.  
>"Fourth." said Sven.<p>

Sirius and James high fived under the table, grateful they wouldn't have to deal with Karl in their dorms.

"Ah, you'll be dorming with us, Sven." Remus said politely.

"_Da_, though I've heard some things about you four." He said, giving them an interesting look.

"Oh really?" Sirius wore a Cheshire grin. "What types of things?"

"You're pranksters, like those two." He said, nodding his head over to Hans and Petro who were talking to Marlene and Lily.

"You've heard correctly." James grinned. "What has Audrey told you?"

Sven scooted in closer to them, away from Karl and Audrey. "Audrey told me of your shenanigans when she was with you four a few weeks back…Karl wasn't pleased upon first reading it."

The four boys exchanged grins. "Did she tell you what provoked it?"

"Yes." Sven laughed. "She send us photos. Quite good physical impersonations of you all."

"What do you mean that Karl wasn't pleased upon first reading it? Is he alright with it now?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh...let's just say, you're lucky Audrey likes you guys enough to tell him that it was harmless and that you didn't see anything. Karl is usually very calm, but in a situation like that he would have hexed you into the next year." Sven said, laughing slightly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back and talk to Audrey's pretty veela friend over there."

"Good luck, mate." Sirius said, patting him on the back as he got up and moved down towards Chantal.

After another hour of everyone blabbering on at the feast, it was finally time for bed. The hallways were always crowded after feasts, but this was ridiculous.

"It's going to take us an hour to get to the common room." Sirius groaned, hitting his head on a wall in between two portraits.

"Watch it, Black!" One of the portraits hissed, everyone laughed.

"Sorry, sir." Sirius replied.

"How far is your common room?" Karl asked.

"It's on the seventh floor." Sirius replied. "The others are in the dungeons-" _'Where you belong.'_ Sirius thought to himself. "Slytherin has dungeon style, Hufflepuff's right near the kitchens, an ideal spot, and Ravenclaw is in the east wing, on the sixth or seventh floor."

"Too bad you were not Hufflepuff, Audrey." Sven bumped her hip. "I enjoy midnight snacks."

Audrey snorted, playfully shoving him away as the approached the portrait hole.

* * *

><p>Alright, so you may or may not have noticed that Audrey's cousin's name has been changed from Peter to Petro. They're the same name, I just figured it'd be easier seeing as we're going to have two Peters now. :P<p> 


	28. Chapter 28

A bit shorter than the last one…

A review would be most appreciated. ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 28

The transitions of having an additional 2,000 students in the castle had been quite interesting during the first month of school. The hallways were much more crowded, the chatter that rang through the hallways was in three different languages, Audrey felt fortunate to understand two, and the teachers were interesting.

The systems were similar still, Gryffindors were all together in classes, as well as the other houses. But with the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students thrown into the mix as well.

Much to James' dismay, Quidditch was going to be different this year as well. There was no Quidditch Cup, at least, it was replaced by something else.

"Now I know many of you have been asking your professors about Quidditch this year." Dumbledore said one morning at breakfast. "We will still be having Quidditch this year."

There were several loud cheers from the students and the Headmaster continued.

"There will be the additions of the four teams of Durmstrang, and the four teams of Beauxbatons added into our competition this year. There will be more games because of this, in all weather conditions."

Hans and Petro high fived, Karl and Sven grinned at each other.

"You gents play too?" James asked. They all nodded.

"We're beaters." Hans and Petro said together, grinning.

"I'm a keeper, and Svens a seeker." Karl said.

**As Karl happened to be a Keeper, I happened to be trying out for the open Chaser's position… James knew this, and gave me a look.**

"So how do your teams work?" Marlene asked, conversationally. "Do your schools have houses?"

"Sort of…" Sven began, not quite sure how to put it. "We are sorted by character, like your school, but our houses are colors, not animals. Our four houses are, Fioletovyĭ, Zoloto, Chernyĭ, and Zelenyĭ."

"Purple, gold, black, and green." Audrey translated.

Sven nodded and continued. "In Fioletovyi, Purple, students who are considered to be magical, mysterious, and '_royal'_" He did air quotations on the last one, making a face. "They turn out some of the worst sorts of wizards."

"The others." Karl picked up the conversation. "Zoloto, gold, is personal power, courage, confidence, and willpower. They're a very successful house, that's Sven's and my house. Chernyi, Black, is simply a mysterious house, however, Chernyi has the darkest people, the _most _evil."

Karl's eyes flickered to Sirius for a second, then continued. "Zelenyi, Green, is the house of nature, change, and life."

"Interesting." Remus said thoughtfully. "So it appears that half of your student body is prone to becoming dark wizards."

Sven nodded. "It's true. They all graduate thinking they're high and mighty, then they go join the other jackasses."

James laughed at his sense of humor.

"What are your houses?" Sven asked, turning to Chantal.

"We don't have houses, technically. We have our dormitories based on our year. So all the first years sleep in the same dormitory, the second years, and so on. Our four teams though, are made up of students from the fourth year and above, it's random. The teams are the Thestrals, the Owls, the Banshees, and the Pixies."

"The Pixies?" Sirius snorted. "They sound vicious."

"They are." said Hans. "You'd be surprised. They play quite dirty."

"I'd expect the Thestrals to play dirty." James said thoughtfully.

"We're on the Thestrals!" Petro and Hans said together, offended.

"Oh! Sorry mates!" James replied, feeling awkward.

"It's okay. Everyone always judges the Thestrals, they're misunderstood creatures." replied Hans, casually.

"What even are Thestrals?" Sirius asked. "I've never seen them.

"Me neither." said Peter.

"Same." James nodded.

"They're invisible creatures, they pull the Hogwarts carriages." said Lily. "They're only visible to those who have seen death."

"Ah." James said. "Well, I look forward to playing you guys."

They grinned.

_**For each subject we took, we had a different teacher from a different school, this would be rotated each term. The start of term, we had the Durmstrang potions professor, Professor Perov.**_

"Audrey, what the hell is he saying?" Sirius whispered in her ear. To Audrey's dismay, they had been partnered together during potions class.

"He said to put the beetles in after the pickled toad." Audrey whispered.

"I can't believe they let him teach us. His English is horrible." Sirius muttered, putting in the beetles. Audrey stirred the cauldron.

"Well, Sirius. He's never had to use English in a classroom before." Audrey said casually.

"That's true, I suppose." He mused, cutting up some roots. "I'm surprised your friends speak such good English."

_**Sirius had never called Karl my boyfriend, he seemed to be avoiding that word all together.**_

"Yeah, their parents speak English also. It's come in handy for them during the wizard tourist season." Audrey replied, conversationally. The two hadn't been tense in a while, though Sirius was acting weird during meals and around the common room. She couldn't say Karl wasn't acting a bit strange either, but by far less strange than Sirius.

"I don't think Karl likes me much." Sirius said out of nowhere.

"Why?" Audrey asked, choosing not to look at him and deciding to look at their potions book.

"I don't know…I just get this weird vibe from him." Sirius replied. Audrey turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "The other day, when he was talking about Durmstrang's houses, he gave me a peculiar look after mentioning the Black house."

"So? It could be a coincidence, your last name…" Audrey replied calmly.

"I know, I thought that too." Sirius ran a hand through his hair.

**I decided to play the innocence card, I was quite good at it. It made me look better around my female friends, in particular, Audrey.**

"Then he was saying how every wizard in the Black house was evil." Sirius acted nervous. Audrey shot him an odd look.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it that way." She replied, thinking about it. "You know, he's not pleased about the prank a few weeks back."

"I didn't see anything." Sirius replied, a naughty smile forming on his lips. Audrey whacked him lightly, shaking her head with a small smile.

"I know that, and he knows that. I just think he's upset about it almost happening. It's a little more uptight in Russia to do something like that…" She said. "without a woman's consent at least." She added.

**At that point, I wondered how hard it would be to get her consent on that. Ha! Who was I kidding? Very hard.**

Because of the additional eight teams that year, Quidditch trials were extra early for the Hogwarts teams that were looking to replace players that had graduated.

_**Judging by the smug look on Sirius' face when he walked into the common room that day, I assumed he had gotten the open Chaser spot.**_

_**Then again…Sirius always had a smug look on his face.**_

"Someone's looking happy." Marlene laughed, as Sirius plopped on the couch next to Remus and looked at his friends.

"Got a new girlfriend yet?" Audrey asked, without looking up from her Charms homework.

"No, you know I'm going out with Lucy!" Sirius laughed. "I got the Chaser spot!"

"Nice!" Remus clapped his friend on the back.

Peter high fived him, Marlene grinned.

"Congratulations!" Audrey beamed, looking up from her homework.

**I melted, every time she smiled. It was awful the affects she had on me.**

"You know who Gryffindor is versing first match of the season, right?" Remus asked him.

"No…I don't."

"The Zoloto." Remus gave him a mischievous look, Sirius' eyes widened. Audrey looked up and said.

"Oooh, that's going to be so awkward. I don't know who to root for…"

"Your house, obviously!" Sirius sputtered.

"My best friend of ten years is on Zoloto and so is my boyfriend, Sirius." Audrey gave him a look.

"So you're going to betray your own house?" Sirius snarled.

"I _never _said that!"

"It's _implied_." Sirius hissed, giving her a dark look.

"Way to twist everything I say, Sirius. Once again your _oh so brilliant _mind comes to the wrong conclusion." Audrey snapped, taking her homework and walking out of the common room.

Everyone around Sirius sighed, it was happening again. Just as it happened every year, except this year involved a boyfriend…

"Keep pushing her away, Sirius." said Marlene quietly. "And she'll just get closer to him."

"Marly, are you even on my side?" Sirius asked quietly.

"I take no sides, Sirius. If my friends are happy, I'm happy. But I think you should at least give him a chance. He's under the impression that you don't welcome him here." Marlene replied.

"It's because I _don't _welcome him here!" Sirius replied, throwing his hands in the air.


	29. Chapter 29

Thanks for the reviews, Madmad237, JulesDragonLady, Sarah Liz B, and Weasleytwinslover87!

30 will be out right after this one. :]

For the last few weeks, I've been writing some of the later chapters. I can't wait for you all to read them, quite exciting!

Reeevvvieeewww? :D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 29

_Late September, Gryffindor vs. Zoloto._

"Oh god, I'm so conflicted!" Audrey yelled, flopping on her bed. The eight girls (four Gryffindor, four Beauxbatons) had woken early that morning to get breakfast and get ready for the game.

"I'm not." Chantal grinned, she was rooting for Zoloto mainly because of Sven.

"We all know why." Marlene snorted, and they laughed.

"I can't help it, he's so sweet and charming." Chantal cooed, Audrey pretended to barf.

"It's so weird hearing that, he's like my brother." She laughed, and then sighed. "I really don't want to go…"

"It'll be fine!" Lily said. "I mean, one of them's got to lose, and then all this tension will be over."

"You really think it'll be over, Lils?" Alice, their fourth dorm mate, said. She raised an eyebrow.

"She's got a point, Lily." Audrey gave her a look as they descended the staircase and walked into the common room.

_**It was true, it was the first Quidditch match I didn't want to watch. There was too much conflict and working up towards the match, James, and especially Sirius, became very tense and rigid. They were on great terms with Sven, but whenever Karl was around they wouldn't speak. It bothered me greatly, especially seeing as I was still stuck being Sirius' partner in potions class.**_

"_Morning, beautiful."_ said a voice Audrey loved to hear. She grinned, kissing Karl on the cheek. He was wearing his Quidditch robes, a gold and black combination. Different from the Hogwart's Hufflepuff house robes, it seemed more mature. On the back of their jerseys was their school crest and their last name.

The rest of Karl's team was also in the Gryffindor dormitories, and they were descending the stairs on the boys side.

_"Morning, Audrey!"_ said Dmitri, one of the chasers.

_"Good morning."_ She grinned.

"Audrey!" James scolded, joking around as he came down the stairs in his uniform after the Zoloto team. "No fraternizing with the enemy! You were sorted into _Gryffindor_, remember?"  
>"Okay, <em>Dad<em>." Audrey snorted.

"They're the star crossed lovers of the house." Marlene said, causing everyone to laugh, including Karl and Audrey. It was true.

"So who's _Romeo_, and who's _Juliet_?" asked Sirius, coming down the stairs next.

_**I had to admit to myself, Sirius cleaned up well in uniform.**_

"I'll be Romeo." Audrey joked, looking at Karl. "I'm stronger…" She whispered in his ear.

"Oh really?" Karl raised an eyebrow, smirking. In a flash, he picked up Audrey and threw her over his shoulder. She laughed.

"Can you put me down?"

"No, I don't feel like it. Let's go get breakfast."

Audrey giggled and spoke to him in Russian.

"Aww, they're cute." Chantal cooed, Marlene, Lily, and Alice nodded in agreement. They all began giggling and grinning.

Sirius rolled his eyes, shaking his head as the other girls left for breakfast.

"I was attempting to belittle him and of course they turn it into a joke." He said, collapsing onto the couch.

"I know, mate." James said, rubbing his friends back. "I thought it was brilliant."

"Thanks, James." Sirius said, giving him a small smile.

"Oh my god, you two are _totally_ gay for each other." came Marlene's voice. Both of their heads snapped up.

"What're you doing back here?" James laughed.

"I forgot my sweater." She replied, about to run up the stairs. "Sorry I interrupted your couple moment."

"I'm proud of being gay for James!" Sirius said standing up triumphantly. "I don't know why you're so upset about it, Marly."

"I'm not, Sirius." Marlene replied. "I'm happy for you as long as your both happy…_and _if I can be the flower girl at the wedding."

With that, Sirius and James got up, chasing her up the stairs…of course, the stairs in the girls dormitory changed to a slide when a male would try to enter.

"Nice job." Marlene said sarcastically, sliding down with her sweater.

James and Sirius just grinned at each other.

_**I felt so odd at the match that I ended up sitting with Severus in the back of the Slytherin section, Lily accompanied me. She had apparently refused to cheer for James after something stupid he said at breakfast.**_

"Aren't you in the wrong section?" murmured a voice in Audrey's ear. She turned around to see a pair of familiar blue grey eyes, and black hair.

_**Regulus Black.**_

"I thought inter-house and inter-magical relations was this year's theme." Audrey replied slyly.

He gave a small laugh, his lips were close to her ear once more. "I suppose that's right, but I figured you'd be rooting my brother and his idiot friends on in the Gryffindor stands."

Audrey shook her head, keeping her eyes straight ahead, she only turned her head very slightly to speak. "I'm a little conflicted…"

"Right." He murmured. "I forgot your boyfriend is from Durmstrang. I'm sure Sirius isn't too pleased about that."

Audrey raised an eyebrow, turning around.

"Regulus!" Severus said, just noticing the boy was there.

"Severus." He replied, a signature Black smirk forming on his features.

"I didn't notice you were right behind us." Severus' eyes glinted.

_**Severus and Regulus had a strange relationship that I cannot really explain…not now at least.**_

"Gryffindor Chaser Sirius Black aims the Quaffle at Gregorovitch. OH, right to the head…oh, that's going to hurt. Not a very welcoming shot for our international guests."

Audrey slapped her palm to her forehead, letting out a frustrated sigh. She rested her head on Severus' shoulder and he patted her shoulder consolingly.

"Though I'm more biased towards Karl, they're both gits." Severus said, as Karl had retaliated when he blocked a shot with his broom and aimed directly for Sirius. It hit him in the shoulder.

"This is why I don't date." Lily said, shaking her head. Audrey laughed.

"Ah, I see the Russian is not as calm as he was thought to be." Regulus said out loud, more to Audrey than to Severus, but he made it seem as though he were speaking to Severus.

"I'm hoping he takes your brother out." Severus had a malicious glint in his eye as he spoke to his house-mate.

_**Severus, Karl, and Sven had taken an instant liking to each other…I was glad that at least **__most __**of my male friends had been getting along.**_

"You and I both." Regulus smirked. "They say that the Zoloto house is the calmest house in Durmstrang, but they're playing pretty viciously."

"And fairly." Audrey added, it was true though. Gryffindor was playing fairly, with the exception of Sirius, James and the other Chaser who seemed to have an out for Karl. James was the calmer of the three.

It was a very stiff match, Zoloto had only scored ten points and with Karl as Keeper Gryffindor hadn't scored at all. However the defense was stepped up and two hours into the match they were still at ten - nil. The match was ended when David Jarrett, Gryffindor's Seeker, managed to catch the snitch and end the game.

"Merlin's pants that was a long game." Audrey groaned, as she made her way down from the stands with Severus and Lily. The three of them decided to go see Zoloto's team, Lily had decided after watching James and Sirius play earlier that she didn't want to speak to them at all.

They entered the locker rooms to find all of them sitting around on a bench, their captain, Dmitri, giving them a speech.

"Looks like we have company." said Sven, pointing to the doorway. The three grinned.

"Excellent offense." Severus smirked.  
>"And defense." Audrey added, giving Karl a peck on the cheek. He grinned.<p>

"I know, that's what I said!" shouted Artemi, one of the beaters. Everyone laughed.

"Sorry they're gits." Lily said, motioning to the direction of the Gryffindor locker room, which could just barely be seen out the window.

"It's alright. They played admirably." Sven said, but then added. "…sort of." He shot Karl a look.

"_It would help if that chaser wasn't in love with your girlfriend." _Dmitri muttered, shooting Karl a look.  
>"<em>He is not." <em>Audrey replied, shooting Dmitri a look.

"_Oh really? It doesn't appear that way." _He replied sarcastically. _"He looks pretty jealous to me. Right boys?"  
><em>A few _Da's _were heard throughout the locker room.

Lily and Severus shot Sven a confused look, looking for a translation. Sven just whispered. "Sirius…"

"Oooh." Lily said. "Well, Dmitri, Sirius has always been that way. Audrey's managed to shut him out pretty well for the last three years."

Severus snorted. "More like Black just drools at sight of any member of the opposite sex."  
>"That too." Lily added.<p>

"We'll just have to play harder next time." Dmitri said. "Training on Sunday evening, before dinner. Don't be late."

With that, he dismissed them.

_Three weeks later._

"Lilllyyyyyyy." James and Sirius whined together. They had been following her around all day, and every day that week, whining.

"Lilllyyyyyyy!"

"WHAT?" The redhead snapped, finally annoyed. She had successfully ignored the two for nearly a month.

"YAY!" The two said together.

Lily, still angry, raised an eyebrow.

"You finally spoke to us." James said.

"Yeah." Sirius chimed in. "It's been nearly a month."

"Don't you know why I've been ignoring you?" Lily seethed, not sure why she was still bothering with the two. She could have been at the library right now.

"No." They said together, acting innocent.

"Oh come off of it." Lily hissed, calling their bluff.

"We've been behaving, Lils." Sirius said.

"Yeah, we've made loads of friends from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons." said James, and they began to list.

"Chantal, Hans, Petro…"  
>"Sven, Olaf, Igor…"<br>"Kurt, Erik, Aimee…"  
>"Marie, Veronique…"<p>

Lily groaned in frustration and sped up, she didn't feel like dealing with those two and their shenanigans. They sped up with her, Sirius on her left, James on her right.

"Lilllyyyyy. Where are you going?" Sirius asked, poking her.

"To the library." She replied haughtily.

"But why are you mad at us?" James asked. "We've told you all of our friends."

"BECAUSE…" Lily hissed, stopping short and glaring at them both. "You both have purposely been treating Karl like he's the most awful person in the world and his entire team for backing him up."

James and Sirius wore identical mocking expressions of shock and hurt. Lily still glared. Before either of the boys could say anything, Lily came dangerously close to them and said in a low voice.

"Just because Audrey has a boyfriend, Sirius. Doesn't mean you can treat him like that. He's a nice guy, and you'd both realize that if you actually made an effort to get to know him."

With that, she stormed off.

"What's her problem?" James grinned at his cohort.  
>"No idea." Sirius shrugged, grinning.<p>

Lily made her way into the library, red faced and sat down at her usual table with Severus and Audrey, Karl, Sven, and Chantal were additions this year. Despite all of them working hard on homework, they had been kicked out a few times for their laughter or chatting.

"What's wrong?" Audrey asked, noticing how red Lily was.

"Ran into the two gits again." Lily mumbled.

"They're still houding you?" Severus asked. Lily nodded.

"What happened?" Sven asked, curious.

"I just told them off, that's all…" Lily mumbled, still angry.

"Thank you, Lily." Karl said, giving her a smile. "You didn't have to do that."

Audrey nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, I was planning on scaring them out of their wits on Halloween anyway…nothing like a good scare for revenge."

"A good scare won't do anything for those two." said Marlene, who had come out from behind a bookshelf carrying three large books. She plopped down in the empty chair across from Audrey.

"Good point." Lily said.

"But again, Lily, thank you." Karl said, genuinely serious.

"It was nothing…those two are just…ugh…" Lily shook her head, opening her charms text book.

"What time is class tonight?" Chantal asked.

"Five thirty." replied Audrey, not looking up from her essay. She was nearly finished.

"It's ten after…" Marlene said.

"We should go then." Audrey said, quickly shutting her open text books. "I'll go get Sarah."

The last time the girls had class they had been late and ended up having to stay in the studio for an additional two hours. Audrey was about to rush over to the other side of the room where Sarah sat with Henri, her _'friend'_ from Beauxbatons, when someone had grabbed her arm.

She jolted back and felt Karl's lips crash onto hers.

"What?" She asked, looking up at him after they broke apart.

"Nothing." Karl whispered, smiling. "I just felt like it."

"I'll see you later." She breathed, he nodded.


	30. Chapter 30

We're moving along! :D

*Oneesan - My friend in Japan told me it means 'big/elder sister' in Japanese, and can also refer to a mentor. (I hope that's right...well anyway, it's in this chapter. I've found that oneechan means 'little sister'?)

Reeevvvieeewww?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 30

_**October flew by as quickly as September, and James and Sirius were still being difficult. I admired Karl for having nothing but patience for the two, mainly Sirius. At the time, I still disregarded what everyone had told me which was so "blatantly obvious."**_

_**So blatantly obvious that even Hisoka had to bring it up…**_

Audrey had just finished playing something for Hisoka.

"Excellent, you'll be set for the competition next Saturday." She smiled pleasantly.

_**Since my first year, I had done four competitions every year. It was a loophole through my father's rules. I couldn't make a professional debut until I turned fifteen, but going to competitions provided me with some good exposure when I placed. Of course, most of these competitions were around England and Scotland, and Angeline Hayes was at every single one.**_

_**After my first competition, where I had met Angeline and "overthrown" her, she wouldn't leave me alone. She had won multiple competitions over the years and she wasn't quite used to anyone coming in that could actually be of equal caliber. Angeline and I, neither is better than the other. One unspoken thing we have agreed on is that we are incredibly different. Angeline was more stoic, and technical, whereas I was more in motion and emotional. Though if you were to ask Angeline herself if we were equals, she would say no. We have different ideas of music and if a musical hierarchy exists. She appeared to feel as though music was a limited thing, it had to be in your blood, or you had to have money. I strongly disagree, and hope to emphasize the point that music cannot be owned and cannot be caged.**_

As Audrey was packing up, Hisoka spoke.

"I noticed you've been having some gentlemen following you around…"

_**The way she spoke of it, there was a mixture of curiosity, innocence, and conviction. It was the way she had spoken to her clients, and pretty much everyone else. But I had caught it, as she had been training me in other subtle art forms besides music.**_

"_Really_, Oneesan?" Audrey replied in a similar manner, she was being sarcastic but hid her sarcasm well. Hisoka was quite impressed.

"Really." Hisoka gave a tiny laugh. "Have you not noticed?"

"I have been a bit preoccupied." Audrey replied. "And I have Karl." She added, giving Hisoka a knowing look.

"Beyond Karl, Ayla."

_**She had insisted on calling me by my stage name, so I would be used to it in the outside world when she spoke to me or about me.**_

"I haven't really noticed anyone but Karl." Audrey replied, blushing slightly. Hisoka laughed.

"Half of the young men in this school have looked at you and you haven't noticed?" Hisoka glided across the floor, fixing an arrangement of flowers on her table.

"How do you have flowers in the fall? It's far too cold…" said Audrey.

"That is off topic, Oneechan." Hisoka replied. "But if you must know, they are from a friend of mine. He is also a vampire, and he's quite good friends with the Headmaster. You'll meet him soon, he's lovely."

"As I was saying, you should be more observant. You may only have a quarter veela in your blood, but it works more to your advantage than you realize…physically and _mentally_." Hisoka continued.

_**I was quite annoyed with her at the time, just as I had been slightly annoyed with Dmitri and the rest of Karl's team calling me out on Sirius. I am very plain looking, and I must emphasize that. I may have the hair of a banshee, but I'm sure that there are tons of young women across England that have the same features as I do. Brown eyes, black hair, pale skin…I saw a lot of them in St. Petersburg.**_

_**As for the comment regarding the sliver of veela in my blood…well, I had a lot of other creatures in my ancestry. You can imagine how skeptical I was…I learned I was wrong in later years.**_

**I swear to Merlin, sometimes she really made me want to hit my head on the wall…or stick it in a Dragon's mouth.**

"I will try." Audrey replied, bidding her a goodnight. She had a late lesson with the Headmaster again, and decided to drop her cello off in the common room

_**It was unusually deserted for this hour of the evening, I felt a jolt inside but I ignored it. I assumed that everyone was off for a late session at the library, or up in their dorms.**_

Audrey brought her cello case up to her dormitory, and went back down the stairs and through the portrait hole.

_ARGHHHH_.

Audrey paused in the hallway, listening again.

_HAHAHAHAH_!

She knew those laughs very well, and sprinted to the end of the hallway and turned down the corridor.

Severus was stuck to the wall, upside down at an odd angle. Audrey checked to make sure no one else was around and walked over. She had almost forgotten to take out her wand, not like she needed it…but it was more for show.

Before she could cast a spell to free Severus, someone else already had done that. Karl was walking down from the opposite end of the hallway, he helped Severus off of the ground.

Audrey was about to walk out again when someone pulled her back, it was Marlene.

"Marlene, what?"

"Shh!" Marlene replied, pressing a finger to her lips and pointing at the boys. The two girls watched as Karl had his back turned to Sirius and James for a moment.

Sirius was about to take a cheap shot, and Audrey wanted to punch him more than anything. Just as Sirius cast the hex, Karl whipped around and blocked it.

Audrey checked the clock on the wall near them, it was ten to eight. "Marly, I gotta go…lesson."

"Alright." Marlene whispered, smirking. "I'll keep you posted with what happens."

"Excellent." Audrey replied, grinning as she ran off to the Headmaster's office, managing to get there just intime.

"Lemon drop." She said to the gargoyle who jumped aside, muttering how she was almost late.

"I'm not late yet!" She called to the gargoyle as she ran up the stairs. She knocked with a moment to spare.

"Very punctual today, aren't we, Audrey?" Albus Dumbledore smiled, opening the door.

"Yes, sir." Audrey replied, standing in the doorway.

"Well? Arent you coming in?" Albus asked, taking a seat behind his desk.

"Sir, I thought we'd be heading out onto the grounds." Audrey replied.

"Ah yes, normally we would…however we must wait until the Thestrals finish practice at eight fifteen. So we have fifteen minutes to wait around before we can make our way onto the grounds."

Though one would expect it, the fifteen minute wait wasn't awkward at all. Audrey and the Headmaster conversed about the school year, the different professors, and the Quidditch teams.

Deep in the forest, Audrey was practicing duelling with her powers. Though she knew Albus Dumbledore was probably…no…definitely, the greatest wizard alive, she was worried she would hurt him. After all, she had almost hurt her father a few times by shrieking.

Though, Audrey was in an odd mood that night. She was still angry with James and Sirius, her anger flared even more noticing what they had done to Severus and Sirius' attempt to get Karl when his back was turned.

She curled her fingers slightly and a nearby tree had uprooted and shattered into a million little pieces. In one swift arm motion, she let all of the pieces fly towards her opponent. Albus blocked them of course, but he stopped for a moment.

"Quite impressive." He said, observing her. "I don't think I've ever seen that one done by your grandfather, or your father for that matter."

Audrey wasn't sure if Albus had ever duelled with, or along side her father, but her grandfather had told her that they fought in a few duels together before.

"I was feeling creative." Audrey shrugged.

"You're rather angry tonight, aren't you?" Albus observed, Audrey nodded.

"I suppose we should call it a night, it's getting late and judging by the way you've fought today, you look tired." Albus said, motioning for the girl to follow him out of the forrest.

Audrey made her way through the halls, and slowly made her way up seven flights of stairs. Albus was right, she was tired. She hadn't realized how much energy she had used into training today.

The common room was deserted, save for Sven and Karl, who sat in two of the arm chairs speaking in quiet Russian.

"_Dobryĭ Vecher_" Audrey murmured, walking up to them.

"_Tired_?" Karl asked, gently pulling her onto his lap. She nodded.

"_What are you two still doing up?" _Audrey murmured, running a hand through Karl's hair. Sven fake gagged and she laughed.

"_I couldn't sleep. Your friends are loud." _Sven said, shaking his head.

"_Remus and Peter? They're quiet, and they're my friends. James and Sirius however…" _Audrey replied, letting her eyes go red for a second. Sven laughed.

"_I'm glad to see you're on our side, Audrey." _Sven said.

"_I've known you longer. We have history_." Audrey replied, sincere.

"_And Sven, what do you mean, _our_ side? They've been on my back, not yours." _Karl pointed out.

"_Karl, if they're on your back, they're on mine. They may be friendly with me but no one screws with my best friend." _Sven replied evenly. Karl grinned, murmuring a thanks.

"_I'm so sorry they're being so rude to you guys, they never used to be like this…" _Audrey replied, genuinely sorry.

"_You shouldn't apologize. They're not children." _Karl pointed out.

"_He's right you know." _said Petro, coming down the boys stair case. Hans followed.

"_Don't get us wrong." _said Hans, taking a seat on the sofa. "_We like those blokes, they think like us."_

"_But we can't stand the fact that they're so rude to our little Karl." _Petro cooed.

"_I'll be fine."_ Karl murmured, as Audrey rested her head on his shoulder.

"_I just don't understand why." _Audrey said.

"_Really?" _The four boys looked at her.

"_It isn't obvious, little Audrina?" _Petro asked.

"_I know that answer." _Audrey snapped. _"The thing is, Sirius dates around all the time. I have a _solid _relationship and it's a _bad _thing."_

Her cousins shrugged, and there was a clamor from upstairs. Remus came down.

"I see I'm not the only one annoyed with their antics." Remus sighed, sitting down with everyone.

"_Da_, I couldn't sleep, they were giving me a headache." Sven agreed.

"Well, at least tomorrow's Saturday, we can all sleep in." Audrey suggested, they all nodded.

"I'm sorry about what happened in the corridor, Karl. Marlene told me she had seen, she wasn't pleased." said Remus.

"Thank you, Remus. I am sorry you are caught in between." Karl sighed.

Audrey remembered that Marlene planned on telling her what else happened in the corridor, seeing as she had to leave for her lesson. If she was still up, she'd ask, if not, she'd find out in the morning.

"I think I'm going to go up to bed." She said, more to Karl then anyone else.

"You probably should." Karl agreed, pressing his lips to her forehead. She gave him a quick kiss goodnight, knowing her cousins and Sven would make fake gagging noises, then went up to her dormitory.

"It's about time you got back…" Marlene murmured, half asleep.

"Albus kept me a bit late, wanna show me tomorrow morning?" Audrey asked.

"Sure." Marlene mumbled sleepily.

With that, Audrey closed the curtains of her four poster and drifted to sleep.


	31. Chapter 31

I was going to publish yesterday but I wasn't feeling too great. :/

Thank for the reviews, Sarah Liz B and Weasleytwinslover87! :D

I'm in the process of writing Chapter 32 right now. Buckle your seatbelts, my friends…drama is around the corner.

Also, on the subject of Deleted Scenes, I've been working on some of those at the moment. I've decided that after this story is done, I might include a chapter in deleted scenes with random facts from both of my stories. Such as things about certain characters, certain scenes, etc…Yay or nay?

Review please? ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 31

_Sirius flourished his wand and cast a hex, however, Karl had quick reflexes and blocked it with ease._

"_Taking a cheap shot?" Karl called. "I thought Gryffindor House never sunk low?"_

"_There are some exceptions." Sirius called, gesturing to Severus. "For example, helping out a slimy git."_

_Severus glared, now raising his wand._

"_What exactly is your problem?" Karl asked, coming closer._

"_I think you know." Sirius looked at him evenly._

_Karl gave a derisive laugh._

_"Of course!" He called, exasperated. "Of course! You know, I was actually quite excited to meet you both, she spoke so highly of you. But you can't even get over the fact that she's in a relationship."_

"_Your point?" Sirius called, raising an eyebrow._

"_My point is, if you were actually a friend of hers, you'd be happy for her. And by the way, don't you have a girlfriend? Or are females really that expendable to you that you keep forgetting which girl you're dating?" Karl asked._

_Sirius attempted to fire something back at Karl, but he blocked it once more and walked away with Severus._

"Glad to see Karl is the bigger person." Lily breathed, as she and Audrey were ejected from Marlene's pensieve.

"Sirius is _very_ lucky I wasn't there." Audrey said darkly.

"But, this proves it." said Alice.

"Proves what?"

"HE LIKES YOU." The other three girls said, looking at her. Audrey began to hit her head on the bedpost nearby.

"I hardly think it's that-"

Marlene interrupted. "Are we really going to go there, Audrey?"  
>"Well, you didn't let me finish!" Audrey protested.<br>"Oh, let's hear this one." said Chantal, emerging from the bathroom. Veronique, Marie, and Aimee, their other dormmates from Beauxbatons followed.

"Vat are we 'earing?" Marie asked.

"Audrey denying that Sirius likes her." Alice said, Marie snorted in response.

"As I was saying." Audrey continued, annoyed. "I have a theory."

"Oh no." Lily groaned, as they waited for her to continue.

"I think he just _'likes me.'_" Audrey used air quotations. "Because I'm the only girl in Gryffindor tower that hasn't dated him." She shot looks at Alice and Marlene.

"It was one date in Hogsmeade during our second year!" Alice protested. "It doesn't count."  
>"If it's called a date, it counts." Audrey said pointedly, then turned to Marlene.<br>"I dated him for only two days." Marlene protested.  
>"Still counts." Audrey replied.<p>

"But wait, there's a flaw in your theory." said Lily.

"What would that be?" Chantal asked, curious.

"He hasn't dated me." Lily said triumphantly.

"BECAUSE HIS BEST FRIEND IS IN LOVE WITH YOU." Everyone, including the girls from Beauxbatons said to her at the same time. Lily blushed and muttered something about how he wasn't.

"I think it's a good theory." Chantal said support. "Sirius hits on anything that moves, but he does seem to have a magnetic affect around you."  
>"Chantal!" Audrey whined.<br>"Just think about it! That's all I'm saying!" She said, holding her hands up in mock surrender.

_One week later._

"Are you going into Hogsmeade today?" Chantal asked, shaking Audrey awake.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine." Audrey mumbled, she shouldn't have been surprised. Chantal was always one to shake someone awake.

"Well?" Chantal asked.

"Yeah, the whole gang is going in." Audrey replied, and by the whole gang, she meant everyone else in their dorm.

"Good, I want to go to the Hogshead." Chantal said.

"What?" Audrey asked, sitting up.

"You heard me."

"Yes, I did hear you. Chantal, are you taking a Stupid Draught?" Audrey asked, serious.

"No, I am not taking a _Stupid Draught_." Chantal did jazz hands to emphasize the last two word. "Very clever with that, but anyway, the Hogshead has tons of our kind there, Audrey. We're not going to be killed or anything. And they have an open mic!"

"So does the Three Broomsticks." Audrey replied.

"Audrey, you move rocks, you can cause an 8.0 on the Richter scale. I can shoot fire from my hands and turn into a vicious bird. We'll be fine." Chantal said casually.

"And you can charm the pants off of any guy you like." Audrey mumbled.

"It's not something I _like _to do though." Chantal shuddered, remembering the incident a few weeks back when a Ravenclaw boy by the name of Gilderoy Lockhart would not stop following her around. He was now following Audrey around.

"…And you have some veela in you too. Not to mention mixing that with your banshee genes and you're a regular man-eater."

"The only boyfriend I've had is Karl." Audrey replied quickly.

"Touché…truce?"

"Truce." Audrey replied, shaking Chantal's hand, laughing.

_**Halloween at Hogwarts had always been an interesting day, all of the meals were Halloween themed. There was so much sugar that I wasn't sure if it should be illegal to be around so many youths.**_

_**The only way I have prepared for it in the past years is to not eat at all two days prior, I could do it easily, and so could Remus and Chantal. Our other friends however…**_

"I'm so hungry." James whined. "Why did you tell me to do this?"

"I didn't _tell _you to not eat, James. I merely suggested it, I never said you had to." Audrey corrected him as they waited for breakfast.

"Well, how do you manage?" Peter asked, curious.

"I can go days without eating, so can Remus and Chantal." Audrey shrugged, looking at her fingernails for a moment.

Sirius snorted and said. "Special people."

Remus, Chantal, and Audrey clinked their glasses together, grinning.

_**I was on minor speaking terms with James and Sirius, whereas Lily…  
>Well, let's just say Lily Evans could really hold a grudge.<strong>_

"Are you all going into Hogsmeade?" Remus asked the girls conversationally. They nodded.

"We're going to start looking at dresses." Lily grinned.

The boys all groaned.

"What about you guys, going to look for dresses too?" Sirius asked Karl and Sven.

"_Da_." Sven replied, sarcastically. Hans and Petro decided to change the topic and talk about Zonko's and the Quidditch shops.

"_Just wait until later…" _Audrey said to her boyfriend and best friend. "_I've got something good for him."_ She nodded her head over to where Sirius sat.

In the last few weeks, Sirius and James had gone on their usual wild pranking sprees. However, Karl and Severus seemed to be more of targets. Audrey wasn't pleased to find out that one of their pranks, was turning Karl entirely pink after he showered one morning.

_**The excuse we had all made that we were dress shopping had been a half truth, we walked around Hogsmeade, looked at the three shops that sold dresses. We all tried a few on here and there, and had some of the shop owners order us dresses to try on which would arrive in a few weeks time. **_

_**Afterwards, we split off into pairs, Lily went with Marie, Alice went with Veronique, Marlene went with Aimee, and Sarah went with a girl named Carole.**_

_**Of course…Chantal and I had snuck off to the Hogshead.**_

"Welcome." said the bartender, Audrey found his resemblance to their headmaster a little surprising.

He looked at them curiously and then said. "Let me guess…veela." He pointed at Chantal, and then looked at Audrey. "And you…I'm not quite sure."

Audrey let her eyes flash yellow quickly.

"Ahh…interesting." The bartender said, looking at her with an expression Audrey couldn't quite place. "Well, I'm assuming you've somehow heard about this bar being a hotspot for others like yourselves."

The girls nodded, ordered their drinks and sat at an occupied table. The bar was fairly empty for this time of the day, and though there was supposed to be an open mic as Chantal said, it didn't start until 7 pm. By then, everyone would be back in the school at the feast.

"Next time." Audrey said to Chantal, motioning to the sign that said 'Open Mic every Saturday, 7 p.m.'

"How?" She asked.

"Knowing James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter…I'm sure they've found some way out of the school." Audrey shrugged, finishing her drink.

_**I left Hogsmeade early to meet Hisoka in her quarters, I was enrolled at a competition in London for that afternoon. The competition was different from the usual ones I had attended, it involved players of all ages. I knew I wasn't going to get to the finals, which was fine by me. The finals were during the Halloween feast after all…**_

"Hey, Russia!" James called as Audrey entered the Great Hall and sat with her usual group.

Hans, Petro, Karl, and Sven all looked at James.

"What?"  
>"You said 'Hey, Russia." Audrey pointed out. "We're all from Russia."<br>"I thought you were born in England?" said Remus

"No, I was born when my parents were visiting my great grandparents. I was born a little outside of St. Petersburg."

_**I left out the part about being born in a banshee colony…I was already weird enough.**_

"So how was the competition?" Sven asked, chewing on some bread.

"Was the bitch there?" Marlene's eyes widened. She loved hearing good stories about Angeline, just as much as Audrey loved hearing stories about Olivia - Marlene's rival from the camp she attended for years.

Audrey nodded. "Angeline was there, neither of us won though."

A few _aww's_ were heard.

"It's alright though…I placed at least." Audrey grinned.

"And she didn't?" Marlene's eyes widened, a grin on her face. Audrey gave a tiny nod.

"Better than losing to her." Marlene raised her goblet, clinking it with her friend.

Audrey had planned to initiate her little scare after the feast, but to do that she needed bait. Severus had surprisingly volunteered, when he saw Audrey's shocked expression he shrugged and said.

"I want to see Sirius get it."

Severus left the hall early, which was the essential bait. Sirius of course, took notice right away. He grinned at James, the two got up and strode out of the hall.

Audrey flashed her friends a look, Karl grinned.

"Go get them, tiger." Remus laughed. Audrey smirked and stalked out of the hall.

Severus planned to lure the two onto the third floor, and he did with ease. Severus, unfortunately was hanging upside down and was being repeatedly hit with water balloons. Audrey sighed, shaking her head, for added affect, she didn't use her wand.

She simply waved her hand and Severus was released. Sirius turned around.

"Oh…" He said, furrowing his brow. "Spoiling the fun again, Russia?"

Audrey didn't say anything, but glared. She was half acting, half serious.

_**I told Severus that once my eyes turned red it would be the signal to leave, and he left quickly…and now the fun would begin!**_

She approached them slowly, for more affect. They stood rooted on the spot, curious. She stopped within two feet of them, wearing a sweet smile.

"Audrey…what?"

_**I have a rather bizarre gene pool, and sometimes I really like to abuse that.**_

Audrey's eyes turned black, her sweet smile still plastered on her face. Her teeth began to change from their normal appearance to sharp, long, and jagged.

_**The teeth, I had inherited from my mother. Her natural teeth were these tiny sharp points, but whenever she was angry they'd elongate slightly. So when he mouth was open she looked like she was about to eat whomever she was angry with. It is, as my father puts it, a defense mechanism.**_

James and Sirius took a step back…but there was more.

Audrey's skin began to change, bluish green scales began to form.

_**And for the grand finale!**_

She exhaled and fire shot from her mouth.

_**I inherited that from my father, who was half veela…he inherited the scales and the fire. Occasionally, a bird beak sprouted as well when he was incredibly angry. Naturally, if my parents fought, a portion of our house would most definitely be destroyed. I had seen it happen a few times here and there.**_

"Merlin's pants what the bloody hell?" Sirius shouted, as he and James set off sprinting down the hallway and out of sight. Severus popped out from behind a suit of armor and Audrey quickly changed back, giggling.

"That was brilliant." Severus smirked, and the two walked back to the Great Hall for the end of the feast.

**Honestly, I don't think I had ever been scared in such a way before.**

…**but I couldn't stay away.**


	32. Chapter 32

Thanks for the reviews, Sarah Liz B and Weasleytwinslover87.

The drama begins! :O Like I said last night, buckle your seatbelts my friends…

Review please? ;] …I wonder who will be my 100th review?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 32

_**The month of November was rather peculiar that year, and it passed within the blink of an eye. I had several nightmares of red and green lights, similar to the one I had at James' house that past summer. I couldn't understand what was happening…but I assumed it was nothing. There were two Quidditch games during the month, the first game was Zoloto vs. The Thestrals, during the second week of November. Though both teams bore a similar rivalry to that of Gryffindor and Slytherin, they were much more cordial, being from different schools. Karl, Sven, Hans and Petro jokes about it often and were incredibly excited to play each other.**_

_**However, things took a turn for the interesting two days before the game.**_

"AUDREY!" Chantal shrieked, coming up the stairs of their dormitory. "AUDREY!"

"What is it, Chantal?" She asked, concerned as she noticed her friend's frightened face.

"Look out the window…" Chantal's eyes were wide. Audrey obeyed, and strode over to the window. In the distance, she could see Zoloto practicing…but Karl's broom began to viciously jerk.

"What the?" Audrey began, her eyes wide.

"It's been doing that for ten minutes…I ran up to get you. First it was just little tiny jerks while he was flying, then all of a sudden it started getting vicious…and now this."

The broom had disappeared, and Karl began to fall.

"NO!" Audrey shrieked, and nearly climbed out the window to summon a rock. Chantal held her back.

"AUDREY YOU CAN'T BE SEEN!"

"IT'S AN EMERGENCY!"

"I KNOW!" Chantal struggled with her friend. "We'll have to run down there."

Audrey bolted from her friend's grip and sprinted downstairs, Chantal followed.

"What was _that_?" Peter asked Remus.

"Judging by the flashes of blonde and black, I'd say it was Audrey and Chantal running."

"I could barely see them!" Peter mumbled, shaking his head.

Audrey lead Chantal down the stairs and through the main hallways in seconds, through the entrance hall, and onto the grounds. They sped up, noticing all of Karl's team had landed and was standing around him.

"_What happened?" _Audrey asked, almost out of breath as she approached them.

"_Someone fucked with his broom." _Dmitri spat angrily.

"_Who do you think it was?" _Audrey breathed, kneeling over Karl with Sven.

_**He had taken an awful fall, and no one had gotten to him in time which made me nervous.**_

"_It could be anyone." _Dmitri shook his head. "_Our best Keeper! Now we have to use the reserve…and he's not nearly as good."_

"_Don't be cruel, Dmitri." _said Sven, checking for Karl's pulse.

_**I could just faintly hear his heart beat, which relieved me and scared me all at once…**_

"_It's not cruel if it's the truth." _Dmitri said. _"I sent Mischa up to get your hospital nurse."_

Audrey nodded, Chantal looked confused and Sven explained quickly and quietly was had just happened. Madame Pomfrey came shooting out of the school moments later with Durmstrang's headmaster and Zoloto's head of house.

Everything was a blur and Madam Pomfrey had Karl on a stretcher and was quickly moving up to the hospital wing. His team followed slowly, Sven and Chantal had to hold Audrey back so she would calm down a bit. When they arrived in the entrance hall, a black haired boy came out from a side door.

"_What happened?" _asked a boy from Durmstrang that Audrey didn't know.

"_Karl's injured." _Dmitri said to the boy, judging by the look he gave him, he didn't like him.

Without any other words they all made their way up to the hospital wing. Dmitri was cursing under his breath the whole way. When they arrived in the wing, there were tons of adults there. Madam Pomfrey, Durmstrangs Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Zoloto's Head of House, and another Durmstrang professor Audrey couldn't identify.

"We need to call in a Healer from St. Mungo's. It was a bad fall." Poppy tutted.

_**If you had to call a Healer from St. Mungo's to Hogwarts, you knew it was really bad.**_

"Not now." Albus said, noticing the team, Audrey, and Chantal. "You all can come back to visit in a few hours. We need to make sure Mr. Gregorovitch is stable. And I need to get in touch with Grigori…"

Reluctantly, the group made their way out of the hospital wing.

"I'm going to go back to the common room." Audrey said, in a slightly dead voice.

"I've got to go find our reserve." Dmitri grunted, setting off in another direction. The rest of the team dispersed.

It was midday on a Sunday and the Gryffindor common room was deserted, save for the Marauders, Marlene, Lily, and Sarah (who they had somehow managed to sneak in.)

As always, the boys and girls were off in separate groups, Remus rotated between the two. After all, he was Switzerland.

Audrey walked in, not saying a word.

"Wotcher." said James, she didn't hear him. Her head was spinning.

"_WOTCHER_, Russia." James called again. She turned quickly.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked, as the boys read her face.

Audrey inhaled a shaky breath. "Karl's hurt…badly…"

"Git deserves it." Sirius mumbled, barely audible, but Audrey had heard it.

**I really need to watch what I say.**

Audrey's expression changed from distraught worry, to realization, to rage.

"_You_." She hissed in a low voice. Sirius shot her a questioning look.

"Sirius Black, I cannot fucking believe you." Audrey snarled, annoyed. "Look, I get it, you hate Karl but this…this is just _completely _unforgivable. What has he ever done to you? Nothing."

Audrey felt like she was about to explode, grabbed her rucksack, turned on her heel and stormed from the common room. She needed to go to the library.

"_So_…what the bloody hell just happened?" Sirius asked, looking around, very confused.

"Karl's broom was tampered with at his Quidditch practice." said Maksim, a fifth year and friend coming into the common room. "It started violently shaking, and it was trying to buck him off. Then it disappeared and he fell from quite a height…he could have died."

Lily and Marlene, assuming the same that their friend did, slammed their books shut and left the common room. Sarah followed.

"Sarah…what are you doing here?" asked Maksim, perplexed.

"I…uh…converted to the first church of Godric Gryffindor!" She shouted as she ran past them all. James laughed.

"Gotta love our Puffer."

"Anyway…" Maksim said, getting back on topic. "His leg's are definitely broken, there was this awful cracking noise when he hit the ground."

Everyone winced.

"Sirius…did you really?" Maksim asked, calm and neutral.

"NO!" Sirius exclaimed. "Who do you think I am? My father? I don't like him, but I wouldn't do something so crazy as nearly killing him!"

**It was probably one of the worst feelings in the world, for once I **_**hadn't **_**done something and I was blamed for it.**

"Alright, alright." Maksim said, trying to calm a frantic Sirius down. "I believe you…and I'm sure everyone else does too."

The other boys nodded, and Sirius hit his head on his Potions textbook.

"I'm sure they'll come around…" Peter suggested.

"Eventually." James added.

Audrey made her way into the library, which was pretty empty except for a few Ravenclaws. She sat down at an unoccupied table and forced her charms book open.

She stared at it, without reading.

"_Having trouble concentrating?" _said a gruff voice.

Audrey looked up to find the boy that had talked to Dmitri briefly in the entrance hall, he was a seventh year.

"_Da_…" Audrey said quietly.

"_May I sit?_" He asked.

Audrey shrugged, she couldn't really deny him a seat. It wasn't as if she were saving any of the chairs at the table for anyone.

"_My name is Igor_." He said, brushing his lips against her knuckles.

"_Audrey_." She replied, taking her hand away from his quickly.

"_Your Russian is quite good for someone English…" _He said, curious.

"_My father is from Russia_." Audrey replied, a little creeped out by the way he was looking at her.

"_That's lovely…not many girls around here understand us_." He replied, gesturing to the Durmstrang shirt he wore. His hand was resting on her knee.

"_It's understandable, they're not really exposed much to eastern Europe." _Audrey replied, spotting Severus out of the corner of her eye. _'Thank Merlin' _she thought to herself.

"_I must go…my friend that I'm meeting is here. We're going to head to one of our professors for something." _Audrey said quickly. _"It was nice meeting you!"_ She added.

She grabbed her books quickly, walked over to Severus, gave him a look and the two left the library. A safe distance away, Audrey made sure no one was around in the hallway and pulled him into a classroom.

"What was that all about?" Severus asked.

"There was a boy from Durmstrang being creepy and I didn't want to be in the library any longer." She breathed.

"How old was he?" Severus asked, furrowing his brow.

"He looks like a 7th year…he was just…ew…" Audrey shook her head. "I'll point him out to you when we pass the library again."

Severus nodded, and the two snuck out of the classroom. As they walked past the library, Audrey kept her head low and whispered from the side of her mouth.

"That's him, in the grey shirt."

Severus winced as they walked by.

"That's _Igor Karkaroff_." He said in a hushed tone. "He's the captain of Fioletovyi…their whole house is staying in the Slytherin dungeons."

Severus looked disgusted and annoyed by this.

"Sven told me they're the _worst_ sort." Audrey crinkled her nose, remembering Sven's letters over the last few years about the Fioletovyi. Their head of house was the Dark Arts teacher there, just the _Dark Arts_. They had a separate defense course.

Of course, Albus Dumbledore wouldn't have Mstislav Kremer teaching any of the students anything so horrid.

_**As first years, Durmstrang students would be test dummies for all sorts of cruel things. Sven came home after his first summer there with some wicked burns, upperclassmen were always told or forced to practice on the young. Both Karl, Sven, (and every other guy in Zoloto,) hated it, and refused. Professor Kremer, as well as the Durmstrang Headmaster, claimed that it "built character."**_

"They are." Severus agreed. "I've seen them in action, everyone else in my house thinks they're so great. Pure bloods…" He scoffed. "Come on, let's go see how Karl's doing."

Audrey nodded.

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing, the bed where Karl lay was still crowded. Hans, Sven, and Petro sat at one side, Karl's grandfather on the other. There were two Mediwizards, and Audrey's stomach dropped.

"_Mr. Gregorovitch." _Audrey breathed, as Grigori got up and gave Audrey a quick hug. _"How is he?"_

"_They said he'll be fine…he's got to grow back one hundred and twelve bones. He took a nasty hit to the head, but when he woke briefly they did a few tests. He remembers everything except for what happened before the fall." _Grigori said quietly.

Audrey let out a shaky breath.

"_I was so scared when Albus fire called me." _He whispered, sitting back down in the chair beside his grandson. He moved a bit of hair out of Karl's face. "_I don't know what I would do if I lost him…"_ A few tears escaped him.

Audrey, Sven, Petro, and Hans were kicked out of the wing after two hours. By then, it was night fall and they had just made it in time for the end of dinner. They ate quickly and in silence, none of the Gryffindors, or the girls from Beauxbatons bothered them. They understood that this was a bad time.

They were silent all the way up to the common room. Sven had retreated to the dorms early, muttering something about needing more sleep. Hans and Petro stalked off to a corner of the common room, they sat quietly, studying for once.

"How is he, Audrey?" James asked, biting his lip.

"He's alright…" Audrey replied, sitting down on the couch between Remus and Peter. "He's alive…"

Sirius felt an instant pang of guilt, sure he hadn't done it. But the fact that she though he had, and that Karl was seriously hurt made it all so much worse.

"What's the diagnosis?" asked Remus.

"He has to regrow one hundred and twelve bones…they said it'll take nearly a month for him to recover. And he hit his head pretty bad and has been in and out of consciousness."

Remus gave her a consoling pat on the back. Sirius looked at the floor.

"His grandfather was there…" Audrey said, tears filling her eyes. "He was so upset, he thought Karl had died."

**I felt like my heart was being repeatedly stabbed, there were far too many feelings that were surrounding me. Longing, guilt, sadness, anger, and jealousy. **

"That's awful…" Sirius murmured.

"Wow, Sirius." Audrey said venomously. "How _nice _of you to say." She was very sarcastic, and looked as though she was about to explode.

"Audrey, Sirius has an alibi." James said calmly, noticing their friend looked like she was about to cause a nearby wall to collapse.

"And he's not nearly smart enough to be able to make a broom dissapear…or even bewitch a broom at all." added Remus.

"_Moony_!" Sirius whined.

"It's true." Remus said, giving him a look that said _'I'm saving your ass, shut it.'_

Audrey tried to steady her breathing, she looked at the boys.

"I'm listening…" She said, exhaling.

"Sirius was with Peter and I, studying." said Remus.

Audrey snorted.

"What? I'm an intellectual." said Sirius, puffing out his chest.

"I hardly believe that." Audrey replied, half joking, half serious. "But because Remus says it, and Peter is backing it up…I apologize for accusing you, Sirius. I should have known better that you're not a _complete _jerk."

"Just a _half_ jerk." Sirius grinned.

**At the time, I figured I'd take whatever I can get. But yes, I still didn't like Karl…I was quite the jealous bloke.**

Audrey, Sven, Chantal, Hans, Petro, and Severus visited Karl every day, he was slowly recovering. Audrey had come in to keep him company and help him eat. Sven came in to entertain him with Chantal, usually telling him about the odd things that happened at Quidditch practice. Hans and Petro helped him catch up on all the work he missed, most teachers figured that it'd be best to give him essays and textbook assignments. When her cousins weren't around and had Quidditch practice, Audrey helped.

On the last weekend in November, the girls had finally picked out their dresses for the ball.

"It's still only a month away." Chantal whined.

"Less than a month." Lily corrected.

"It's still a _long _time, Lils." Marlene said, Audrey agreed laughing.


	33. Chapter 33

Thanks for the reviews, Masterofbugs123, Weasleytwinslover87, and Sarah Liz B (Hope everything checked out okay!)! :]

Sorry this took longer than expected, the past few days have been quite busy. I'm hoping to get another out tomorrow, like I said…busy day, need sleep. :P

General announcement, in exactly one month I will be moving off to University. New place, new classes, busy schedule, etc. I'm **not **abandoning this story, but as I am unsure of my schedule, I don't know when I will have time to update at school. Hopefully it'll be somewhat often…I'll figure it out when the time comes. I've got to ask you guys, do any of you have Macs? I'm required to have one for school and I'm curious as to how easy it is to publish from one.

Next chapter, THE YULE BALL… :O

If you like chocolate, I think you should review. Okay? Okay, good.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 33

_**December had come in and brought the snow with it, it had snowed everyday of the month so far…**_

Audrey was heading down the hallway with Marlene and Sarah, they had just finished a dance class but Chantal, Marie, and Veronique had been asked to stay behind by their teacher.

"So how is Karl?" Sarah asked.

"He's been doing better, almost all of his bones are back, they're just waiting on his ankles and some of the bones in his foot." said Audrey, looking out the window. It was heavily snowing outside once more. "I don't think he'll be up and running in time for the ball though…"

"No!" Sarah said. "No, he will be ready in time. You guys have to go." She whined.

"Why, because it'll be awkward with just you and Henri?" Marlene cooed.

"Nooo. Henri and I are awesome together. I just don't want Sirius near her." Sarah replied, jerking her head towards Audrey. "Knowing him, he'll be in super idiot mode at the ball."

Audrey laughed. "That is true."

"In anycase, let's hope Karl gets back on his feet soon…no pun intended." Marlene added quickly.

Sarah broke off and went to the Hufflepuff common room, saying something about studying with Henri. The other two returned to the common room, wrapping themselves up in whatever blankets they could find.

"Don't you two usually come out of dance sweating?" James raised an eyebrow. Marlene chucked a pillow at him.

"We did…but then we cooled off, and now we're really cold." Audrey replied, pulling the blanket over her head.

Sirius and James gave Audrey an amused look.

"What?"

"You look funny, Russia." Sirius cocked his head, Audrey laughed.

In the last few weeks, since Karl had been nearly killed, Sirius took to being a little nicer to Audrey. He still didn't like Karl, but he felt bad for Audrey. He may have been crazy for her, but she was still his friend. And he'd rather have her as a friend, then to not have her at all.

"And you both look funny when you're giving me the same look, you're like twins sometimes…"

"Separated at birth." James said sadly.  
>"We've missed out on so much." Sirius said, turning to his 'brother'.<p>

"Just like Marly and I." Audrey grinned, Marlene was curled up in her blanket, with only her eyes sticking out. She was leaning on Remus' shoulder.

"Is there something you two aren't telling us?" James asked, cocking an eyebrow. Marlene looked away and Remus turned to his Potions textbook.

"THERE IS!" Audrey gasped, grinning.  
>"Moony?" Sirius asked, his eyes alight. Remus said nothing but continued to read through his textbook. Marlene kept her eyes away from her friends, she quickly excused herself for a moment and set off up the stairs at a quick pace.<p>

Audrey jumped up, gave Sirius and James her blanket, and said. "Hold this."

She sprinted up the stairs yelling. "MARRRRLYYYYY! MARRRRRLYYYYYY!"

James and Sirius laughed, then turned to their friend. They got up, and each took to sitting next to Remus on either side.

"Moony…is there something you need to tell us?" Sirius nudged, smirking.  
>"Like that you're dating one of our feisty little blonde friends?" James grinned.<p>

Remus was about to say something when Audrey came running down the stairs, Marlene was chasing her.

"THEY'RE DATING!" She yelled, running around the common room, dodging Marlene, and jumping over the sofa. She rolled over it and landed on the floor, a huge smirk on her face.

"There's your answer." Remus gave a small smile, pointing at Audrey, who was tackled by Marlene.

"_Mooooony_! I'm so proud." Sirius cooed.  
>"Our little boy is growing up." James conjured a tissue and pretended to blow his nose.<p>

"Can I have my blanket back?" Audrey asked, sitting up. Both her and Marlene's hair was messy and they were laughing a bit.

"No." said James, managing to wrap the blanket around himself, Sirius, and Remus.  
>"We're cozy." Sirius said.<br>"Sorry." grinned Remus.

Before Audrey could say anything, Chantal, Marie, and Veronique had come into the common room.

"What happened?" Audrey asked, sitting up. Chantal had used every French expletive imaginable.

"That _stupid_ girl, Jenna Blishwick, thinks she's the greatest dancer out of the whole studio." Chantal seethed.

"What else is new?" Marlene snorted, she had never gotten along with Jenna well. During their first year she nearly decked her in the face.

"She thinks she is so high and mighty above us as well." said Marie. "She said Madame Bonnefoi was a crackpot."

"She thinks everyone is a crackpot." Audrey murmured, shaking her head. "Don't let her get under your skin. She's awful at keeping time in jigs."

"Really awful." Marlene laughed. "She nearly cost us a spot at the competition we went to last year.  
>"I've always hated those group competitions." Audrey sighed, shaking her head. "The Slytherin girls <em>never <em>know what they're doing."

"Well, I challenged her." said Chantal.

"To what?" Marlene asked.

"A step off of course!" Chantal said, as if it were obvious.

"Wow…that's _so _scary!" James called from the couch, he was still wrapped in the blanket with Remus and Sirius.

Chantal gave them an odd look.

"A Step Off is not something to be joked about, James." said Marlene. "It's like a duel, but ten times more intense."

"I _hardly_ think that a duel without magic is intense." James snorted.

The girls all gave James a look, and shook their heads.

"James, you just wait until break tomorrow in the Great Hall." Chantal said, a glint in her eyes.

"Tomorrow?" Marlene asked. "You challenged her for tomorrow?"

"I can take her easily." Chantal snorted. "Working with Darcy for the last twelve years. I'm golden."

"You've got a point." Audrey said thoughtfully.

"But…" Chantal began, looking at the two.

"But _what_?" Audrey asked.  
>"Oh merlin…" said Marlene, slapping her palm to her forehead.<p>

"I need a second and a third. She's definitely bringing those two clots with her." Chantal said, raising her eyebrows.

_**She hadn't been at Hogwarts long but she knew of Jenna Blishwick's two cronies, then again, we spent **__a__lot __**of down time in the dance studio…**_

_**In all of my time at school, there had never been any public step offs. We all got at each other's throats from time to time in the studio, and by we, I mean every girl from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff got fed up with the girls from Slytherin. **__**The break for fourth years and above in the middle of the day was usually unsupervised, nothing terrible usually happened unless it was Sirius or James' doing.**_

**And that did happen quite often.**

"Oh look, Frenchie showed up." Jenna cooed.

_**Jenna Blishwick was a rather interesting character, Marlene had met her on the train our first year. She described her as the most arrogant girl she had ever met, and though I tried to reserve my judgments I saw the same when I met her. Though I did not consider her as much of a nuisance as Angeline.**_

"That's what inter magical relationships are all about!" Marlene called out sarcastically. "Names based on nationality, _real _original, Blishwick."

"Shut it, McKinnon." Jenna sneered, Marlene was about to charge at her but Audrey grabbed her around the waist, tugging her backwards.

"Throw me a jig, Seamus!" Chantal called to a Hufflepuff 6th year who played the fiddle.

**I had seen Audrey, Marlene, and Sarah occasionally do some steps, but I hadn't seen anything like this. It proves an age old point, women are **_**vicious**_**.**

The spectacle had gotten everyone's attention and people were watching. Sarah sat next to the boys, trying to explain to them what was happening.

"Jenna's just doing a bunch of threes and sevens." Sarah grumbled, unimpressed.

"I still don't get it…" James said, rubbing his head in confusion. Sirius agreed.

"She's not listening properly, she's not in time with the music. That's the hard thing about a step off, usually the music is random. Neither of them knew what time he was going to play in. You can see Chantal is right on the beat."

"And _why_ are they standing like that?" Sirius asked, pointing to Marlene and Audrey who were standing with their right heels in front of their left toes.

"Basic position…ready position." replied Sarah. "They'll be ready to go into action when called."

"You act like this is war." James snorted, Sarah shot him a serious look.

"_This. is_. _war_. James Potter. This is the equivalent of a Quidditch match." said Sarah. "It's intense!"

"Sarah, why aren't you up there?" Remus asked.

"I'll only go up if there's a fourth, there's a certain etiquette, just like duels." Sarah replied, intently watching Chantal.

Chantal was holding her own quite well for a while, but she was waiting to throw her best moves in for last. When Jenna's second decided to jump in, Marlene went in without hesitation.

_**Marlene McKinnon was a **__wicked __**dancer, she was truly gifted. She could catch onto an improvised routine like Chantal's easily and add her own flare. You can call me biased, but she was the best human dancer I had ever encountered. Between her skill and her fiery personality, she was not someone to mess with. Especially in a step off…**_

The crowd was definitely in favor of Chantal, Marlene, and Audrey. Though the Slytherin house and the absent minded Fioletovyi house were thinking otherwise.

Audrey waited, watching the four intently. Jenna had stepped up her game but it was nothing compared to the things that Audrey and Chantal had learned the previous summer. Finally, Jenna's third had jumped in and Audrey set off with ease.

This stretch seemed to last a good twenty minutes, Audrey and Marlene were waiting for a signal from Chantal. And they'd gotten one quickly.

_**I don't think I need to tell you who won…**_

Jenna went storming from the hall, her friends following.

"YEAH! THAT'S RIGHT, GET OUT OF HERE!" Sarah shouted, standing on the table.

"_Puffer_!" James was shocked.  
>"Puffer's got a dark side." said Remus, wrapping his arm around Marlene.<p>

Sarah grinned, high fiving and hugging her friends.

"Merlin, I've been waiting _four years _for that." Marlene said, grinning from ear to ear.

"I think that's put her in her place about calling you Frenchie, _Frenchie_." Audrey nudged Chantal.


	34. Chapter 34

Another busy day coming up, so I figured I'd publish earlier than usual. If I can, I will publish again tonight, if not then you'll have to wait until tomorrow.

Thanks for the reviews, PintoNess, Madmad237, and LizziePixie-Aiko! :D

…Remember when I said earlier to fasten your seatbelts? Review, eh? ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 34

_Christmas Day__**.**_

_**I had never spent the holidays at the school before, but Sirius and James told me that the castle was usually empty. There were so many people left for the ball that it seemed like the school wasn't on break at all.**_

_**It was weird not going home to my parents, or meeting them in Russia and having Christmas with the entire family. But at least Hans, Petro, and I were all together, and among friends.**_

Audrey and Marlene were taking a walk around the grounds, as it had been for the last twenty four days, it was still snowing. It seemed heavier the last two days.

"So is Remus excited for tonight?" Audrey nudged her friend, Marlene laughed.

"Yes, yes. He's quite excited. However he's been a bit annoyed with James and all his whining lately."

"About Lily?"

"Who else would James Potter be whining about?" Marlene snorted.

"I know, I know. Well did he find a date?"

"Yeah, he asked Veronique. She's quite excited about it, I just hope he's not going to be a big git about it." said Marlene, biting her lip.

"I'm sure James will be the utmost gentleman to Veronique…however, to Lily and Dmitri, _hardly_."

Dmitri, Zoloto's Quidditch captain, asked Lily to the ball a few weeks back.

"So how has Karl been?" Marlene asked. "Do you know if he'll be coming tonight?" Marlene asked, changing the subject.

Karl had been recovering slowly, he had made a lot of progress in the last few weeks, but Audrey didn't think he was fully up to walking just yet.

Audrey shook her head and sighed. "I don't think so, Madam Pomfrey said he's still missing some bones in both feet. He was really disappointed when she told us that in the Hospital Wing."

Before either girl could say anything, a snowball came hurtling at Audrey's back. They turned.

"Karl?"

He flashed her a grin, she laughed sprinting towards him and hugging him.

"What happened to 'he needs to grow some bones back in his feet'?" She asked, kissing him.

"A ruse." said Marlene from behind them.

"You knew?"

"Duh." Marlene cocked her head.

"How long?" Audrey asked, looking between the two of them.

"I was cleared three days ago, Madame Pomfrey even played along." Karl mused.  
>"Which I wasn't expecting her to do." Marlene added.<br>"But she did." Karl said, giving Marlene an _'I told you so'_ look. Audrey laughed.

"Well, I'm glad you've recovered then…wait, are you even ready for tonight?" Audrey asked, raising a brow.

"Sven picked up some robes for me." Karl smirked.

"Was everyone in on this?" Audrey asked, throwing her hands in the air.

"No, just Marlene, Sven, and I." said Karl, kissing her hand. "Come on, let's go get some lunch, I'm starved."

"Quidditch players." Marlene snorted, as the three made their way inside.

_**The rest of the day seemed to flash by in seconds, and before I knew it, the eight of us, and Sarah who we snuck into the common room again, we're getting ready in our dorm.**_

_**It was absolutely chaotic**_.

"Lily! Have you seen my earrings?" Alice called.

"Uhh, I think they're on the dresser." Lily called. "Marie can you zip me up?"

"After I finish Veronique's 'air!" She called.  
>"I don't even want to go with James." Veronique whined.<br>"Then why'd you say yes?" Audrey called, curling Chantal's hair with her wand.

"Where are my shoes?" Sarah yelled.  
>"Did you leave them in your common room?"<br>"SHIT!"

"I can't wait to tell Henri that you forgot your shoes." Chantal laughed.

"Audrey, what are you doing with your hair?" Lily called.  
>"I haven't the slightest, Lily." said Audrey, finishing Chantal's hair and putting on her dress.<p>

"Curl it." said Marlene.  
>"Marly." Audrey said flatly, taking a stand of her hair. "Have you seen this? It doesn't do much, it's the most stubborn thing ever and you could make a bloody coat out of it."<p>

"I'll take the challenge." Lily shrugged.  
>"They do call her the brightest witch of our age." Sarah said, shrugging.<br>"Fine!" Audrey said. "Go for it, Lils!"  
>"Yay!" She squealed.<p>

Meanwhile, the Gryffindor common room was filled with guys.

"What do you think they're doing up there?" Henri asked.

"Maybe they're snorting pixie dust." James shrugged.

"We're not snorting anything, sod off!" a seventh year named Amelia called down the stairs.

"Well then you lot ought to hurry the bloody hell up!" Frank Longbottom roared in response.

"KEEP YOUR PANTS ON." Sarah yelled down.  
>"Unless you're Sven, then you can take them off!" Audrey called, mimicking Chantal's voice perfectly. Chantal elbowed her.<p>

"Hey, seeing as you're going with Karl. Who's Sirius going with?" Chantal nudged Audrey who rolled her eyes.

"I don't even know, I lost track of his girlfriends again."

"I've got the talley this year, he's on twenty, and it's a Ravenclaw 5th year, can't remember her name for the life of me." said Alice.

"Ah well, he won't be on my back then." Audrey grinned, the girls laughed.

Finally, they were all finished, with the exception of Sarah not having her shoes.

Chantal wore a floor length, ocean blue dress with a silver waterfall style backing.  
>Lily wore a one shoulder light green floor length dress with rhinestones in the center.<br>Marlene had on a simple strapless plum dress with a split down the left leg.  
>Sarah cleaned up in a halter purple dress with swirls going all the way down to the hem and around.<br>Audrey wore a long red dress, the top had a shiny material that was split down the chest by a chain of red and silver leaves that extended to her back, below that was an opening in the back.

"We're like a Christmas tree." Lily snorted, looking between herself and Audrey.  
>"All you need are some fairy lights!" Sarah chimed in.<p>

The seventh year girls made their way down first, followed by sixths, fifths, and finally fourths. Fortunately, by the time the fourth year girls got down to the common room it wasn't nearly as crowded as it had been before.

"It's about bloody time." James murmured with a grin, extending an arm to Veronique.

Audrey and Chantal approached Sven and Karl.

"Well…don't you two clean up nicely." Audrey laughed, she really meant it. "I don't think I've ever seen Sven in formal attire, and you, Mr. Gregorovitch." She poked Karl in the chest.

"Well you're so used to seeing me in wand maker's clothes." Karl grinned, he took her hand and they made their way down to the ball.

During the first few minutes, Audrey found herself standing next to the Headmaster.

"Greetings, Ms. Dalio." He said, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Professor." Audrey nodded at him. "I expected you to have a certain lady in a kimono as your date to this lovely function."

"Oh she is my date." said Albus. "But she had some business to attend to and will be arriving late. It's probably for the best that these students don't see their headmaster with a younger woman." He chuckled and walked away, Audrey found her way back to Karl.

"Gregorovitch!" boomed a familiar voice.  
>"Karkaroff." Karl said evenly, not pleased to see him.<p>

"_I didn't know you were taking Audrey to the dance. I wouldn't expect such a divine lady to be in the presence of a wand maker's apprentice_" He replied, he had a malicious glint in his eyes as he looked at Karl.

"_Yes, Karkaroff. As it stands, if you're not a creep and are a generally nice person you will always find a date." _Karl said, not breaking eye contact. He gave Audrey's hand a squeeze and lead her away to the dance floor.

"_Sorry about that." _He whispered in her ear as the moved to the music. _"I'm not a fan of his."_

"_I can tell." _Audrey replied, as he twirled her around. "_Severus informed me of how cruel he is. He tried talking to me the day you were injured, as soon as I saw Severus I bolted. He's very…creepy."_

Karl nodded.

_**The ball itself was wonderful, I had never seen the Great Hall decorated so frivolously before. There was an ice theme, and several ice sculptures which were charmed to not only move around the dance floor but not to melt. Everything was going splendidly until Sirius just had to ruin it.**_

**I don't ruin things, per say. I simply meddle in things that aren't my business.**

Sirius had bumped into Karl and Audrey for what seemed like thousandth time that night. She excused herself from Karl for a moment and was going to go have a word with Sirius. This was just getting ridiculous.

Their tables were right next to each other and she took advantage of the fact that Sirius was alone. She tapped him on the shoulder.

"Russia!" Sirius exclaimed, as if nothing were wrong.

"Cut the bullshit, Sirius." Audrey hissed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sirius said, casually sipping from his goblet. She slapped it right out of his hand and it landed on the floor with a clatter. Not like anyone had heard it, the music was pretty loud.

"Sirius, you know exactly what I'm talking about." Audrey replied, exasperated. "You've been doing this all year."

"I haven't been doing anything, Audrey." Sirius snapped.

**Okay, I lied. But who hasn't lied about their feelings before? No one, that's who.**

"And then you follow up by always denying it!" Audrey said, crossing her arms. "I don't understand it, Karl's been nothing but kind to you. You may not like him but you can't deny that."

Sirius was about to open his mouth to speak but Audrey cut him off.

"For once, I'm happy with someone and as my friend I thought you'd be happy for me. You were the one always saying. 'Audrey, just go out with someone already!' I really like Karl, and I can't believe you're doing this. I don't call you out about the girls you date. You're my friend and if you're happy I'm happy but this is just ridiculous!"

On the other side of the ballroom, Sven sat with Chantal, taking a break.

Sven had seen Igor Karkaroff lurking around Karl's table tap his wand to someone's handbag earlier in the evening, he had no idea who's it was, or what Igor had done to it. But he was suspicious…

Sven's heart threatened to pound out of his chest when he noticed Audrey walking across the floor, towards the very table which that handbag sat.

She was arguing with Sirius Black, of course. What else was new? Sirius had been at Audrey's throat all year because she was almost always seen with Karl Gregorovitch. Karl was one of the only other kids in the school that didn't fancy the dark arts, and for that reason, he and Sven were fast friends. They were from the same area too, they only lived about forty five minutes apart. As for Sirius, Sven wasn't too fond of him, he was rather arrogant and constantly tried to get Audrey's attention in the most pathetic ways. For the past three summers since they started school he had heard stories about Sirius and his friends. She obviously didn't want to talk to him most of the time from what Sven understood.

"I'm going to go break them up, she's getting annoyed." Sven said to Chantal, who nodded and let him go.

He began to push through the crowd, reaching the table just in time.

"I'm going." Audrey huffed.

"Why?" Sirius whined.

"Because _you _obviously don't want me here. Merlin forbid _I _have some fun with a guy I like!" Audrey hissed, giving him a look.

"_Audrey_, I didn't mean that…you didn't give me a chance to explain…I lov-"

Audrey was trying to grab her bag but Sirius swatted her hand away, he wanted her to hear him out. She was looking around for Hans, or Petro, her cousins, but she hadn't seen them since the beginning of the ball hours ago.

"Audrey." Sven said, she didn't hear him. She just glared at Sirius.

"_Audrey_!" Sven said again, she seemed to be ignoring him. She was furious, she dodged one of Sirius' arms and grabbed her handbag. It glowed a bright blue.

Sirius and Sven seemed to register at the exact same moment what was about to happen and grabbed onto the bag with a second to spare.

Everything was spinning.


	35. Chapter 35

Thanks for the reviews, Madmad237 and Sarah Liz B! :]

If you read my first story, you know very well that I **love **cliff hangers. I haven't done many of those in this story until now… ;]

Short chapter, a longer one will be coming out right after this one.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 35

The three landed face down and perplexed on a cold floor. Audrey and Sven had recognized the intricate wood designs on the floor at once, Audrey gasped.

"_We need to get out of here." _Sven whispered in Russian. _"I don't like this."_

Audrey nodded. Normally she would be happy to be in St. Aleksander's Palace, her grandparents' home but something was peculiar. Why would her bag be a portkey? And who would want to bring her here?

_**At first, I thought it had been a joke from my cousins…it was a joke, of another kind…**_

"Where are we?" Sirius asked, slightly peeved that he didn't understand what Sven had said.

Audrey gave Sirius Black a look and then said quietly and quickly. "We are in St. Aleksander's Palace, in St. Petersburg. This is the home of my grandfather."

**It was the first time we had ever been so serious with each other, by the way she looked at me I knew there was something incredibly wrong. I could feel my stomach tying into knots…**

The three had gotten off the floor, Audrey made to crawl a few feet across the long entrance hall of the palace to grab her bag. It would be a portkey back to Hogwarts, as all port keys were to their enchanted location and to their origin location.

Before she could do that, someone had kicked it far out of the way.

"Nice of you to join the festivities, _printsessa_ Audrey." said an eerily familiar voice.

She looked up and gasped.


	36. Chapter 36

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 36

Audrey quickly rolled over and sat up, backing away quickly as Vladimir Morozov, the wizard Audrey and Sven had run into some number of years ago in an alleyway, was advancing towards her.

"Why are you here?" Audrey whispered in the dark, staring up at the man. He looked no different then the last time she saw him.

Sven quickly grabbed Sirius by the arm and pulled him against the wall, Vladimir hadn't seen them, fortunately. Sirius was about to run out and save Audrey when Sven held him back, giving him a look that said _'Be quiet, stupid.'_

Sven pointed to his wand, looked at Sirius, and mouthed. "Get ready."

"Why am I here?" Vladimir asked, crouching now, just above her. He let out a small laugh, stoking her face. "I am here to see you, _Printsessa_. Only _you_. But I have to take care of some things first."

Sirius' stomach dropped, he wasn't sure who this man was. But he noticed how clear Audrey had made it that she preferred to speak in English to this man, and he spoke back. Perhaps so Sirius could understand what was happening…

Sven could just barely see Audrey's face in the darkness, her eyes were black but he could sense a slight fear coming from her. Something he could only sense after knowing her for so long…he supposed that she was so fearful because only her great uncle had called her Printsessa, _Princess_. They had always thought it was a name of endearment but the way Vladimir said it, he wasn't sure now. Sven was creeped out, and he knew Audrey had to be too.

Sven was about to give Sirius a signal when Vladimir raised his wand at Audrey, about to strike. Before the three teenagers could react, someone else had entered the room and shouted.

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!"

Vladimir was blasted into the opposite wall, and Ivan Dalio, Audrey's great uncle appeared, looking enraged.

He pulled Audrey up onto her feet easily with one arm, and then threw her behind him, shielding her.

"Uncle Ivan…no…" Audrey said, struggling against one of his arms.

"Silence, Audrina. There's something you should know-" Before Ivan could finish, a jet of light had blasted him away from her and onto the ground. He sat up angrily, cursing in Russian.

One of Vladimir's associates entered the room, firing curses. Ivan had gotten up quickly and began to fire back, Sirius and Sven joined the fray, as well as Audrey as more of Vladimir's associates began to come in from all entrances of the hall.

"_Don't harm the girl, leave that to me_!" Vladimir shouted to his followers.

Out of one of the many entrances to the main hallway, Edik came running in, firing curses and screaming at them.

"_GET OUT OF MY HOME!" _He roared, dodging a killing curse.

**It was my first real duel, honestly…not counting all of those duels around the castle I'd had with Snivellus but that's beside the point. I could only understand half of what was going on around me with the language barrier. I saw Audrey's eyes glowing yellow in the darkness. But then I saw more sets of eyes glowing…all the same…they were all just like her.**

Audrey fired a stunning spell at one of her attackers just as someone had bumped into her.

"JACQUES!" Audrey yelled over the booms and yells in the room.

"Audrey, how did you get here?" Jacques said seriously, taking his cousin by the shoulders.

"I-I was at the Yule Ball, I was about to grab my handbag, then it turned out to be a portkey. Sven and Sirius had seen and grabbed on…where are Hans and Peter? I haven't seen them since the dance began."

Jacques eyes turned red and his face contorted into an expression of anguish. His voice turned serious. "Dead."

Audrey's wide eyes went blue. "How…?"

"I'm assuming they brought them here the same way they brought you here." Jacques said, sending a vase on a jet of wind, which knocked into an unsuspecting victims head.

"By portkey?"

Jacques nodded.

"Audrey, they want something from us…they want us dead, all of us. I got here and I found Hans and Peter dead in the entrance hall. Audrey, you're the youngest, and the only one who needs to know-"

Jacques never finished his sentence, he began to gasp, Audrey looked down at his chest.

_**Someone had pierced a sword into his back…**_

Audrey tried to scream as someone had forcefully grabbed her by her neck, Sirius saw in the distance and stunned him, running to her. Her eyes were white as she ran into his arms without question, sobbing, as Sirius sent a hex at someone.

"Shh…" Sirius said consolingly, managing to punch a man who was less then two centimeters away from them. Had this situation not been so grave, he would have melted, she had never hugged him in such a way. She had never thrown herself at him, but this was hardly considered throwing herself at him at a time like this.

"Audrey, we need to get you out of here." He whispered, she shook her head.

"I can't, Sirius. My aunts, uncles, and grandmother are still somewhere in the castle." She said, her wide eyes turning a peculiar purple.

"Audrey, you can't. you have to forget them-" Before Sirius could finish, Audrey clasped her hands tightly over his ears, leaned over his shoulder at a man who had his wand at Sirius' back, and let out a piercing shriek. He feel backwards unconscious.

Audrey quickly took her hands off his ears and set off into a sprint, back into the fray.

**I was so awestruck and perplexed as I turned and noticed my attacker on the ground unconscious. There was more mystery to her then I had realized…**

Sven was battling Vladimir directly, Audrey noticed how fierce he was. Despite worrying that Sven would somehow become evil when he was first accepted to Durmstrang, she had been proven wrong.

Sven was using the dark magic he had picked up at Durmstrang in defense against dark magic. Now, Audrey was worried about the consequences for him should either side's curses go wrong.

She noticed Ivan floating in the air, firing hexes at unsuspecting men below. Audrey flew up as well, though she didn't like flying without a rock, it had to do.

"Uncle Ivan, what is going on?" Audrey asked, as he continued to fire hexes.

"Audrina, they know about _us_. We knew it would be inevitable to hide from them, we've been running for years. They know, and they want to _destroy _us. They've already murdered your cousins." Ivan spat angrily.

"Where is Nanna, Sophia, and Alina?" Audrey asked, her eyes wide.

"I don't know, _Printsessa_. But you _must _know the truth, it is in this very palace. Run, find it, before it is too late…I don't know how much longer we can keep them off." Ivan said, blocking a curse. "GO!" He roared.

Audrey flew down quickly, carefully dodging a spell and sending a curse towards one of the men Sirius had been dueling. She knew it had hit well when Sirius shouted thanks.

_**I remember sliding quickly through the side door, and sprinting down the empty hallway. I don't remember how long I was running, but I had slipped on something far down the hall…**_

Audrey fell face first onto the cold wood floor, she was sure she didn't slip on her dress. she got to her knees and looked at her hands, and down at the front of her dress.

_**Blood…**_

_**I had slipped in blood…**_

Audrey got up, horrified, and kept running, she didn't even know where to look. Now she could only vaguely hear the bangs and shouts from the main room.

_**I didn't know where to even begin, what had my family been hiding from me? The age old question! What was so important that they had held it off until this very day? My heart and mind were moving at the same speed, my stomach was twisting up. I remembered the previous summer, when I had arrived and heard my grandparents talking in hushed voices in the study.**_

Audrey's eyes widened in realization.

_**That was the first place to look, and I picked up my speed once I saw the two gold plated doors of my grandfather's study coming into view.**_

She sped up greatly, and threw open one of the doors. Perhaps it was in here, whatever it was. The study was huge, there were stories of shelves with thousands, or even millions of books.

She began tracing her fingers along the bindings of the books, some of them were older than her grandparents.

An echo resounded in the large room.

…_**the door had closed.**_

"You are such a fool, Audrina." said a voice.


	37. Chapter 37

Thanks for the reviews, Madmad237, Masterofbugs123, Sarah Liz B, and LizziePixie-Aiko!

I'm going to be pretty busy again today, so I decided I'd publish early. If I have time, I'll put out another chapter tonight.

S-s-s-s-suspense! :O

Review please?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 37

Back in the battle, Sven had grabbed Sirius and pulled him behind a column.

"Are you mad!" Sirius asked, incredulous. "There's a battle going on out there!"

"Sirius, you must get the portkey and go back to Hogwarts-"

"WHAT?" He yelled. "Sven, I can't just _leave _you and Audrey here."

"You _must_." Sven said seriously, pushing him in the direction of the tiny bag in the corner. "You need to go back, and get Albus Dumbledore. He is our only chance."

Sirius realized he was right, they were far outnumbered and had suffered significant losses. Audrey was missing as well and he was fearful she was dead.

He dove towards the portkey and began to spin.

With a crash, he landed in the empty, dark, Great Hall. The tables were still up against the wall, the decorations were still there from the Yule Ball.

He ran out the large oak doors into the entrance hall, spotting no one. It was late in the evening, everyone had to be in bed.

"Sirius Black!" called a shrill voice.

**For the first and only time in my Hogwarts career, I had been so incredibly relieved to hear Minerva McGonagall say my name.**

"Professor, oh thank Merlin." Sirius panted.

"Sirius Black." Professor McGonagall scolded. "Where have you been? Where is Miss Dalio? Where are both Mr. Dalios? And Mr. Beria? Their headmasters are looking for them!"

"Professor, I don't know what happened. But someone turned Audrey's bag into a portkey. When she grabbed it earlier, Sven and I grabbed it realizing what it was and we were transported to Audrey's grandfather's house in Russia. And there was this man there that wants to kill Audrey and her family and I don't know what's happening but Sven sent me back to get the Headmaster immediately. We need help." Sirius blurted out.

Professor McGonagall didn't say anything except. "Follow me."

She quickly mounted the nearest staircase at a speed Sirius didn't expect for a woman of her age. He followed her for ages it seemed, until they had reached the stone gargoyle.

"Sherbert Lemon." Professor McGonagall said quickly. The gargoyle jumped out of the way and a spiral staircase began to appear, climbing up. McGonagall stepped on it quickly and Sirius followed.

In mere seconds, they were in Albus Dumbledore's office. Sirius was surprised to see the old man up so late, he noticed in a chair next to him was Hisoka, Audrey's mentor. The Marauders had just found out about Hisoka the year before, including that she was rather close with their headmaster.

Though Hisoka was not as decorated as she was when Sirius usually had seen her. She wore a solid black kimono and her long hair was down and flat. She looked unusually pale.

"Albus, Mr. Black has come to me with rather grave news. The missing children have been port keyed to St. Petersburg." Minerva said urgently.

"What has been happening, Mr. Black?" Albus asked, lowering his half moon spectacles. Sirius inhaled and began to speak, repeating the same thing he told McGonagall.

Albus looked to be in deep thought, he was about to say something when there was a knock at the door.

"Enter." Albus called.

Professor Slughorn stood in the doorway. "Sorry to burst in at this hour, Albus. But one of my students, and this young man from Durmstrang are looking to speak with you."

He stepped aside to reveal Karl, who wore a loose tee shirt and black jeans, followed by Severus. Karl looked angered and distressed, Severus merely was angered. Then again, that's what Snivellus always looked like to Sirius. Horace closed the door quietly behind him.

"I am sorry to interrupt." Karl said politely. "But I was just contacted via patronus by my grandfather. The Dalio family is in danger."

"No shit, Merlin." Sirius mumbled, Karl shot him a look. He had seen Sirius bothering Audrey just before she disappeared from the dance. He had been bothering her the whole night, in fact.

"Yes, we were just informed of that by Mr. Black." Albus replied. "Hans and Peter were transported by portkey, the same way Audrey was."

"…And Sven?" Karl asked nervously. When he hadn't seen his best friend at the end of the night he was incredibly worried.

"Sven grabbed on at the same time I did." Sirius said, not looking at Karl.

Karl nodded, knowing that Sirius would not see he then turned to Albus. "How do we get to them, sir?"

"We're going to go by floo." Albus said calmly. "The only fireplace open in St. Aleksander's Palace is the one in Ivan's study on the top most floor. From what I understand from what Mr. Black had told us, the battle is in the entrance hall."

Karl nodded.

"Minerva, keep an eye on the castle." Albus said, looking at his Deputy Headmistress. She nodded.

"I will go first." Albus said, looking at the three boys and Hisoka. "Hisoka, you come next, then Severus, then Karl, then Sirius."

They all nodded, and Albus left. Hisoka waited for a few moments, she looked at the three boys, and then followed Albus.

Severus, Karl, and Sirius were now alone together, an odd group. A best friend, a date, and a lover. Karl spoke after a few seconds of silence.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Sirius spat, annoyed.

"Why are you so cruel to Audrey? It seems she has spent half the year in tears because of the things you've said to her." He replied, turning to him.

"I am not cruel!" Sirius protested. "_She's _the one stringing me along."

"More like you just _think _she's stringing you along." Severus pointed out.

"Oh shut it, Snivellus. No one asked you." Sirius spat.

Severus shot Sirius a _'You know I'm right' _look before entering the fireplace and leaving.

Karl snorted and said something in Russian, but then returned to English and said to Sirius. "You are the one who dates a new girl every month, or week, as I've heard from her. That may be the case, but if I were dating someone I would keep my focus on them, and not my closest female friend."

Sirius didn't get a chance to retort, Karl had taken a pinch of floo powder and left for St. Aleksander's Palace. Sirius cursed and followed.

Ivan's study was deserted, but there were booms and yells coming from the first floor. Albus and Hisoka were waiting, wands lit, Severus, Sirius and Karl followed.

"Karl, I believe you would know your way around the house the best?" Albus asked, Karl nodded, standing next to the headmaster and pulling the door open.

The hallways were dark, and the five kept on their toes.

"They are fighting in the entrance hall…" Sirius said, figuring he ought to help Karl.

"I'm aware." Karl replied, in a civil tone. "It has the loudest acoustics in the house, Ivan was smart to direct it there so they could be heard."

There was a light at the end of the hallway, someone else was there.

"_Who are you?" _Karl called, angrily, wand ready.

"_It's me, Karl." _Grigori Gregorovitch called to his grandson_. "Your grandfather, you have lived with me since you were a small boy."_

Karl nodded, verifying this. Very few knew that of him.

"_But how am I sure it is you?" _Grigori called.

"Ask me anything." Karl called in English.

"How did your mother die?" Gregorovitch senior called, his eyes flickering in the wand light.

"She was murdered by Vladimir, but it was covered up as an accident." Karl said solemnly.

Sirius felt a pang of guilt.

**I must admit that I didn't know Karl well at all, and from the moment he stepped foot into our school and was holding Audrey's hand I didn't want to find out anymore about him. In my eyes, he was some prat holding **_my _**girl's hand. However I couldn't really express my feelings in any form other than doing what I've always done, getting every other girl in the school.**

"We need to keep moving then." Grigori whispered. "Albus, have you been in touch with Isaac?"

"I have sent him an owl." Albus nodded.

"Where is Audrey?" Karl asked his grandfather.

"I don't know…but by the looks of it." He shone his wand on the floor, there was a huge smatter of smudged blood, and four sets of hand prints. One set was definitely a man's. "She may have been here…"

Karl, Severus, and Sirius all swallowed a lump in their throats, though none noticed the others.

_Creak_.

"_Grigori_? _Grigori is that you?" _A faint voice whispered, it was dark and they noticed a very narrow rectangular door appeared out of nowhere.

"_Sophia! Yes, it is me. Karl, Albus, and some others I do not know are here to aid." _Gregorovitch replied.

A woman with sandy brown hair poked her head out of the doorway, her face was stained with tears.

"Sophia, where are the others?" Karl asked nervously. She stifled a cry, ushering them into the room quickly and locking the door.

The room looked larger than it appeared to be on the outside. It was dimly lit, there were shades over the windows. Another woman, a little older than Sophia stood at the end of the room, nervously pacing, an elderly woman with piercing blue eyes sat in an arm chair facing the door. Sirius recognized her, she was in a few of the photos Audrey had shown them from Russia the previous summer.

"Anastasia, lovely to see you again." Albus said, giving the woman a nod. "I'm sorry to see it is under such circumstances."

"Yes, Albus. It is lovely to see you as well. I am just baffled though…" The elderly woman whispered, tears in her eyes.

"It is understandable." Albus nodded.

"Have they instructed you to stay here?" Hisoka asked. The three women nodded.

"My father has, yes. We've seen everything…" Sophia spoke, her voice breaking. She pointed at the narrow door, it was concealed on the outside of the hall as a wooden panel, but everyone who was inside the room could see through it clearly as though it weren't there.

There was a flash and they saw a man running and firing curses at an unknown pursuer.

"Edik…" Anastasia whispered, silently creeping towards the door. Her wand was raised, ready.

"_Avada Ke-" The attacker yelled._

Anastasia flourished her wand quickly and the man was on the ground, stiff.

She looked over her shoulder at everyone in the secret room, rolled up her sleeves and said. "I will no longer tolerate these _hooligans _in my home. I'm not staying in here any longer."

With that, the elderly woman left the room. Her two daughters followed, then Albus and the others.

Sirius looked to his left and noticed the elderly woman quickly walking towards the stunned man, she pointed her wand at his throat and snarled something indiscernible. She slashed her wand at blood began to spill on the floor.

"What did she say?" Sirius asked Karl.

Karl looked at Sirius with a grave look in his eyes. "She said, 'How dare you come into my home, and threaten my family.'"

Sirius nodded, concluding that Audrey obviously had gotten her boldness from her grandmother.

Anastasia moved away from the dead man and towards her husband down the hallway, they hugged for a moment. Edik then turned to the group waiting.

"We need to get downstairs. Sven and Ivan are fending them off, they need back up _now_."

"Well? What are we all waiting for? Come on!" She hissed, in perfect English, bustling down the hallway. Edik followed.

Everyone was speaking in quick Russian except for Sirius and Severus. However neither dared talk to each other, they hated each other far too much.

Severus noticed bloody foot prints all down the hallway, moving in the opposite direction of where they were going. They might've been Audrey's, she had flipped her shoes off earlier that evening at the dance.

They had run through a side door to find Sven in the middle of a large circle, battling a large cloaked man, Vladimir's second in command, Ilya. Edik looked to the far right, noticing his grandson with a sword in his back, not far over from him was his own brother, slumped in the corner.

Edik let a tremor run through the floor, shaking the room. Every one of Vladimir's followers, including Ilya, and Sven turned to the door Edik and the others stood in.

Ilya gave Edik a twisted smile.

"_Well? What are you waiting for?" _Ilya hissed.

There were a bunch of yells and everything became chaotic. Edik and Anastasia entered the fray, Karl could hear Anastasia yelling at three of the men she was dueling. Challenging them.

"_Come on, you filthy hogs. Is that the best you've got?"_

Edik was dropping pieces of stone from the rubble in the house on unsuspecting victims.

Albus and Hisoka stood back to back, battling three men each. It was now that Sirius realized how incredibly outnumbered they were. He was intensely focused on a battle with a bulky Russian who was talking to him…not like he could understand. His focus was broken slightly when he heard a scream in the distance.

…**Audrey.**


	38. Chapter 38

Thanks for the reviews, Madmad237, Sarah Liz B, LizziePixie-Aiko, PintoNess, JulesDragonLady, and Weasleytwinslover87!

39 coming out right after this!

Reviews are kind… ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 38

"What do you want from me?" Audrey hissed at Vladimir, backing into one of the bookshelves.

"_Everything_, Printsessa." He wore a dangerous smirk. "You're the only valuable one in this. The rest are expendable."

_**I didn't understand what he meant, my mind was racing with my heart. My family members were surely not expendable, they had extraordinary gifts…**_

Audrey looked stunned, she wasn't sure what to say. She kept her eyes focused on Vladimir in the dark, for the first time, he didn't seem human.

"I found out about you when you confronted me in the alley so many years ago." Vladimir began, situating himself in an arm chair right in front of Audrey. He was staring intently at her. Audrey's eyes were red, one of her hands was outstretched, ready.

"You were so foolish, so naïve…" Vladimir got up for a moment, approaching her, he brushed some hair out of her face.

"Why's that?" Audrey dared.

"I saw you in action, my dear. When you used the wind to push me out of the way, you weren't very discreet." Vladimir's eyes danced in the moonlight.

_**Suddenly, I remembered that night as clearly as anything…he was right…**_

"Do you know how long your family has been hunted for, Audrina?" Vladimir whispered in her ear, stroking her cheek, he laughed. "Seven centuries…and it ends _here_, it finally ends tonight."

"And what does that prove?" Audrey hissed, regaining some courage.

"There's going to be a different world now, a _very _different world." Vladimir grinned.

"And if I don't wish to join you?" Audrey was defiant.

"_You have no choice." _He whispered, barely audible in her ear. Audrey didn't want to hear anymore and shoved him away with a large gust of wind, knocking him into the bookshelf. She set off for the exit, he jumped up and tried to grab her but she was too quick for him.

She hurtled down the long hallway, dodging the smatter of blood she had slipped in earlier. She was horrified to see more blood and a body of someone unknown laying in the hallway. Vladimir was gaining speed quickly, and at that moment, she confirmed to herself that he was not human…but she couldn't distinguish what he was.

_**To say that I was frightened, was a mere understatement…**_

She began hearing the booms and shouts from the battle and knew she was coming close to the entrance hallway. She used whatever was in the hallway, vases, portraits, and knocked them off with a wind. Any diversion would help her.A few feet away from the doorway though, she felt something on her back and had crashed hard face first onto the ground. Vladimir had jumped on top of her, and had a tight grip on her hair. He pulled her head up as far as it would go.

"_Don't _test me." He hissed in her ear, his wand at her throat. "Don't say a word."

Audrey began to cry, he laughed. "I always enjoy the tears."

It was a risk, but Audrey had decided to take it. She let out a scream, hoping someone would hear her over the chaos.

"Silence!" He roared, slamming her head hard onto the tile, she saw blood. He was pinning it down like the rest of her body.

All I could see were the reflections of footsteps slightly up the hallway and through the doorway. She could see them, but she bet they couldn't see her.

And then, as if by some miracle, Audrey could feel foot steps coming from the entrance hall towards where they were. She couldn't see who they were, but they didn't have a chance to react as Vladimir flourished his wand within a second and a green light hit them. At the very same moment, Audrey had wiggled away from him and set off, she was horrified to see that the person Vladimir had hit was her Aunt Alina. A permanent look of surprise was etched onto her face…more tears began to fall.

The skirmish was broken off into groups now, and Audrey ran through the gaps, firing hexes at some of the attackers. Albus watched her curiously, as he had taken down three men he was battling easily and was now aiding Hisoka.

Sirius was now battling a new man after stunning the brute he was against, but two men were closing in on him without him noticing. Audrey had taken one down when she passed them, and Karl had stunned the other.

"Thanks!" He called to Karl, wide eyed.

Karl gave a brief nod and continued battling.

Audrey was eluding Vladimir who was stuck between the several skirmishes going on. As soon as Karl had noticed Vladimir trying to get at Audrey, they began to duel. She bit her lip, nervous. Then noticed a jet of green light, hurtling towards her.

"NOOO!" shrieked a familiar voice, before Audrey could react or register she had been knocked out of the way, onto the ground.

_**I was horrified, and I had an idea of what had just happened seconds later.**_

"Nanna? NANNA?" Audrey cried, kneeling over the old woman. She stared into nothing.

_**The room was spinning, and I didn't want to be here anymore. Suddenly everything just felt empty…and as I looked down at her, I heard Vladimir's words over and over again.  
><strong>_

"_**There's going to be a different world now, a very different world…"**_


	39. Chapter 39

Review please?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 39

_**I lost control of my body, I felt defeated. I barely registered that someone had been dragging me away from my grandmother by my arm. The yells and the bangs around me had been muted, because nothing made sense anymore…**_

_**The noise around me had completely died out, and I thought it was just me but then I had realized again where I was and what was happening. Vladimir Morozov held his wand to my throat, pulling at my hair, I found my hands to be bound by some enchantment.**_

_**I had nothing…**_

_**I looked around to see those still standing frozen, watching me nervously. On the ground I saw nothing but blood and dark figures, some easily identifiable, others not so much.**_

**It was only the Headmaster, Hisoka, Snivellus, and myself left standing. Karl and Sven had both attained injuries and were in one of the hallways on Albus' command. We were outnumbered by eight, and the battles had ceased when Vladimir had yanked Audrey away from her grandmother, laughing at her tears. **

**I hadn't realized how much she was bleeding until the battle had paused. She had a cut on the top of her head, half of her face was covered in blood, the front of her dress was covered in it. It must have been from where she slipped.**

**Seconds before, I was battling him with Audrey's grandfather. I don't know what had happened, but we were blasted backwards and he was dead. Vladimir left me in the rubble, laughing and went for her. I could feel the rage pulsing through me…**

"What a admirable fight." Vladimir spoke in perfect English, his followers grunted in agreement. "Weren't they good?" He added sarcastically, looking over his shoulder at the other men. They laughed.

Albus Dumbledore stared at them, straight faced.

"The great Dumbledore!" He gestured to the Headmaster. "…_he can't save you now_." Vladimir whispered to Audrey.

**I didn't know what he said after mentioning Dumbledore, but a chill ran up my spine.**

"It's rather unwise of you to be here, Mr. Morozov." Albus addressed him. "The aurors will be here shortly-"

"The aurors." Vladimir sneered, interrupting him. "The aurors are under command of me, as is the Russian Minister of Magic."

With this, his followers laughed once more.

"Ah, yes." Albus clucked, pacing now. "You didn't let me finish. The aurors will be here shortly, the _international _ones, but I have no patience for that." He raised his wand, giving him a look.

Vladimir gave two of his men a look, shoved the girl into their grip and began to duel Albus.

**None of these men that accompanied Vladimir were dumb, a lot of them were either 'aurors' or worked somewhere in the Ministry. Just like England, the devils had infiltrated. One of them was whispering in Audrey's ear, and she looked absolutely horrified and began to cry. I don't know what he was saying to her, but the way he looked at her and the way he touched her made me lose it…**

While Dumbledore and Vladimir were having the face off of the decade, Sirius had raised his wand and fired a spell at the two holding Audrey. They had been knocked aside, but quickly got up and began dueling Sirius.

Vladimir held out his free hand and summoned Audrey back to him, now deciding to use her as a shield while firing spells at Dumbledore. She had been hit with a few curses, and began to shriek in pain but was silenced quickly by Vladimir shoving a hand over her mouth.

**He was a sick, twisted, maniac.**

The high glass windows of the hall broke and two dark figures came crashing onto the floor, rolling. One of them a man, with salt and pepper hair and green eyes, in a second, his eyes turned a deep black.

**Audrey's father, and what I could assume was her mother had finally arrived.**

Isaac was poised for an attack, but something else had gotten to Vladimir first. It knocked Audrey out of his grip, tackling him to the ground. All they could see was a sea of black hair, Vladimir was yelling and cursing. Audrey ran into her father's arms, his eyes were still black. He released her after a few moments to Karl, who held her tightly to him. Sirius felt an instant surge of rage mixed with longing, he suppressed it quickly.

**I noticed whatever had been attacking Vladimir had stopped, at first, all I saw was her hair and her green arms. She had him pinned to the ground, and Audrey's father was circling them both. His eyes were murderous.**

The room was now silent, and everyone was listening to what Airleas was saying to the man.

"Who are you?" She growled, pressing her fingers to his throat.

"Vladimir Morozov." He choked.

"_Filthy _human." She snarled. "You act as though you're so high and mighty. You require a piece of _wood _to do magic."

She snapped her fingers and Vladimir's wand broke, just like that.

**It was incredibly shocking to me to hear her say such a thing, first, because I was so used to my family members shouting about filthy half breeds. Second, because I had expected Audrey's mother to be incredibly good natured, which she was…but I did not know that until much later.**

"Airleas…" Albus called calmly. She ignored him.

"You don't _ever _come near my daughter again. _Ever_." She hissed in his ear.

"Airleas…" Albus called again, still calm. Isaac however, approached the two and lifted his wife from the man with one arm.

Seeing her in better light, Sirius saw how incredibly alike Audrey and Airleas looked. They had the exact same face, frame, and hair. Though there were minute traces of Isaac and the Dalio family. The shape of her eyes, and her lips Airleas bared her sharp teeth, Sirius now understood where Audrey's teeth from Halloween came from, she was glaring at all of Vladimir's followers. She spoke slowly to them in English. "_Get_…_out_…" She hissed.

They all stared at her, not moving yet.

"Get out…you have a _three _minute head start. Then I'll have you all." She hissed, approaching them.

"Don't listen to that filthy ha-"

Isaac had silenced Vladimir by punching him straight in the stomach, and then shoved him into a nearby wall.

One of the men had been so foolish as to point his wand at Airleas, before he could even cast she had jumped on him and attacked. There was a sickening crack that filled the air and the man went limp.

"Anyone else want to try anything stupid?" She hissed, looking at the remaining men. They seemed to finally take the hint and began to run for the doors. She went straight after them, into the darkness.

Sirius was stunned, and Sven whispered to him. "She's normally very good natured, really. Banshees just get very upset when their own are threatened."

"I can tell…" Sirius replied, in awe. Outside of the palace, the men's screams could be heard. They were quickly silenced.

In the corner of the room, Isaac had Vladimir by his throat. They spoke in hushed Russian, Isaac's voice was deep and demanding. Sirius didn't dare ask Sven or Karl what was happening. Though he noticed something Vladimir had said set Audrey off badly, and she let out a yell and tried to break lose from Karl.

Vladimir let out a laugh and spoke in perfect, cold, English.

"You should let her go, boy. Let's see what happens." He said, an odd, twisted smile on his face.

"Audrey, don't listen to him." Severus called. Before anyone else could react, Isaac moved his arm in a quick swift motion and Vladimir was off the ground and went flying through one of the windows. There was a sickening thud on the ground outside which made Sirius, Severus, Karl, and Sven wince.

Audrey let out a shaky breath, broke loose from Karl's arms and knelt on the floor, cradling her head in her hands. Her hair falling in curtains around her, her breathing was heavy.

"I am so sorry, Isaac." Albus said quietly to the man, giving his shoulder a squeeze. Isaac sighed, looking around.

"It was inevitable, Albus…" He murmured, looking around at everything. His eyes remained black, which scared Sirius quite a bit.

Grigori Gregorovitch was now speaking in hushed Russian to Isaac. The doors opened and Airleas walked in, some blood on her mouth, she wiped it off quickly. Sirius wasn't quite sure who's blood it was. She pushed past the small crowd that was standing around Audrey, she knelt on the floor next to her child and wrapped her in her arms tightly. All that could be heard were muffled sobs and anguished screams that were silenced, there were slight tremors jolting the house falling in time Audrey's cries. Some of them were grand, and others were smaller.

**If you've ever asked someone what their worst memory was, it's usually about a loved one's death. My worst memory was watching the person I loved more than anything suffer so greatly. Every sob, every scream that I heard felt like I was being viciously stabbed.**

_**I had brought this upon my family. This was my fault…**_

_**and I would** never __**forgive myself.**_


	40. Chapter 40

Thanks for the reviews, Weasleytwinslover87, JulesDragonlady, and LizziePixie-Aiko! :D

Chapter 41 will be out right away, and maybe chapter 42 if I'm feeling generous. If not, then it'll definitely be out tomorrow. :]

If I have any readers in the London area, STAY SAFE!

Reviews are nice…

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 40

"We should leave." Hisoka whispered to Albus. "We need to get the boys back…"

Albus nodded. "Let me take them to the fireplace, I need to have a few words with them before I send them back."

Hisoka nodded, approaching Audrey and Airleas as Albus approached the three boys.

"Follow me." He said, they obeyed.

Once they had reached the top floor, Ivan's study, which now felt eerie, Albus paused in front of the fireplace.

"I am sending you back…but I wish to discuss a few things with you all at first."

They nodded, Albus was about to speak but they all turned their heads noticing something in the dark corner moving. There was a tiny burst of light, and then nothing.

Karl shone is wand over it, curious. It was a cello…Ivan's cello.

On the back, was a large Dalio family crest with names all around it. Where the little burst of light was, four letters shone clearly, as though it had just been carved.

_Ivan_.

The cello moved past Karl and floated out of the room, Albus could only assume it was going to float downstairs to the family member next in line. Isaac.

He turned back to the boys and spoke softly but with great seriousness. "What you have seen tonight, whatever information you may have obtained, it must be kept silent. I know that you all know about Ms. Dalio's abilities, but it was meant to be a secret for her safety as well as her family's. I don't know how this tragic incident occurred tonight, and I don't think Ms. Dalio will be right for quite some time because of it. As her friends, I must urge you to not only keep quiet about this, but to make sure Ms. Dalio is not alone in the hallways, or anywhere else outside of her common room. I have a feeling there was someone inside the school involved."

"There was, sir." Sven spoke up. The other boys looked shocked and perplexed. "I saw Igor Karkaroff lurking around Audrey and Karl's table earlier tonight, he bewitched her handbag, at the time I didn't know it was hers until I saw her approaching it."

Albus nodded. "We will investigate further when we return to the school, I must inform Olympe about Hans and Petro."

A few tears escaped Karl and Sven's eyes, two friends, gone in an instant.

As they returned to the Headmaster's familiar office, Minerva was waiting for them.

"Albus, what has happened?" She asked, nervous. "Where is Ms. Dalio? Where are the boys?"

"It was a rather awful ambush, Minerva." Albus said gravely. "Ms. Dalio is safe, Hans and Petro were murdered upon arrival at St. Aleksander's palace."

"Oh dear…" Minerva wiped a few stray tears. "What will we tell the students?"

"We will tell them the truth, Minerva." Albus replied. "The wizarding world is on the brink of war, we cannot shelter them."

The boys made their way from the office, down the dark corridors.

"I'm going to slit his throat." Severus hissed in the silence.  
>"It's not worth it, Severus." said Sven. "He's too powerful, he's always been."<br>"He's not worth ruining your life and going to Azkaban for." said Karl.  
>"He's right." Sirius agreed.<p>

**It was such an odd time for all of us. I was very tense with Snape and Karl, and for once, we were civil. I think it was what we had just witnessed.**

Severus bid them a good night and set off to the dungeons, muttering about how he'd make sure Karkaroff got what was coming to him.

They walked to the Gryffindor common room in silence, as they walked in Sven was ambushed into a hug by Chantal.

"Dear Merlin, I was so worried. Where were you? What has happened?" Chantal asked, looking at them.

Behind her, on the couches and arm chairs was Lily, Marlene, James, Remus, Peter, Alice, Frank, Maksim, Dmitri, Veronique, Marie, and Aimee. Sarah and Henri had been snuck in once again. They all wore their pajamas, and judging by their faces they had been waiting up all night nervous.

**Sven literally broke down, and it made me really respect him. Karl and I had both held back our emotions. The thing about Sven Beria is that he was incredibly honest, which is something I am sure Audrey valued in him greatly as one of her best friends. Yes, Audrey had just witnessed her entire family die before her eyes, but these people were close to Sven as well. I thought about that, I couldn't imagine what would happen if all of the people in that very room that night had died. What an empty world it would be.**

Sven was speaking quickly in Russian and crying, Chantal pulled him close. Maksim and Dmitri took turns translating Sven's frantic tale. Everyone listened to them with rapt attention, the normal laughter that was always present with James wasn't there. Lily shook with stifled sobs, Marlene buried her head in Remus' neck. Remus was rigid and worried, Peter looked frightened. Chantal, Marie, Veronique, Aimee, and Henri couldn't keep it together after hearing of Hans and Petro.

"I can't believe it…" James whispered, when everything was quiet.

"How is Audrey?" Chantal asked, nervous. When it took more than a second for anyone to answer she panicked.

"Oh merlin, not her too! Please tell me it is not my friend too?"

"Audrey's alive." Sven said. "But she's…"

"She's not alright, obviously." Sirius finished, looking at the floor. Karl nodded in agreement.

"When will she be back?" Marlene's voice broke slightly, she had been unusually silent this entire time.

"I don't know." Karl shrugged. "She was with her parents when we all left."

"Funerary arrangements." Chantal said quietly. Everyone else nodded. She excused herself from the couches and walked over to the fireplace on the opposite wall, everyone watched her in silence, not sure what to say or what she was of the sudden, a sea of black hair emerged from the fire, and the head of a banshee was staring back at all of them.

"Chantal? What is it? It's quite late you know…" She said, a hand appeared, and she rubbed one of her eyes.

"Teagan, Audrey's family is dead."

"The whole?" Teagan's eyes widened.

"The grandparents, the aunts and uncles, the cousins…all of them. Dead."

"Merlin's beard." Teagan shook her head, a few tears barely visible in the fireplace. "It was a set up wasn't it?"

Chantal shook her head sadly.

"I hate humans." Teagan said in a sad voice. "The prejudiced kind I mean." She added, noticing the humans behind Chantal.

"We get it, don't worry." said James.  
>"And we hate humans too, sometimes." Dmitri added.<p>

Everyone in the room resituated around the fireplace, listening and talking with Teagan for a while.

"When d'you think she'll be back?" Chantal asked.

"Tonight." replied Teagan. "They wouldn't let her stay there after all of that had happened. I'm going to go and send an owl to Darcy, I'm sure she'll want to come to the funerals."

"How will you get here?" asked Lily.  
>"I'm already in the United Kingdom." Teagan replied. "I can't disclose where our school is, obviously. But the real question is how I will get to Russia, the funerals will obviously be there."<p>

"That's true." James agreed. "…How will you get to Russia then?"

"Apparition." Teagan shrugged.

"But if you're our age, you can't." said Marlene, confused.

"It's not illegal for banshees to apparate. I've been doing it since I could walk. There are far too many of us on the planet for the magical law enforcement to regulate." Teagan said casually. "I'll see you all soon, I suppose. Good night."


	41. Chapter 41

Reviews are nice…

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 41

_2 days later._

Those who had remained behind for the ball, which was a large chunk of the three schools, was buzzing with rumors. At the breakfast the morning after Christmas, the Headmaster had broken the news about Hans and Petro.

The Beauxbaton's students had been incredibly silent since, the Durmstrang and Hogwarts students did most of the chatting of it. The details weren't great, Audrey wasn't included in them, Albus just said that they were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a vague truth. Isaac had begged him not to tell the full story, it would put what remained of their family at risk.

Audrey had yet to return to the Gryffindor common room, and no one had seen her around the school. Sirius grew worried.

Down the hallway, he could see Karl standing by one of the large windows, watching the snow.

"Hey." He said quietly.

"Hello, Sirius." Karl replied, he sounded slightly dead.

"Have you-"

"Heard from Audrey?" He finished, turning to him. "I asked Dumbledore, he says she's in the castle but he will not tell me where at the moment. She needs to be left alone for a few days."

"It's understandable…" Sirius murmured. "Have you heard anything about the funerals?"

"Probably after the New Year." said Karl. "When does our break end?"

"We have another two weeks…" Sirius replied. "More than enough time…"

Karl gave a nod, they both looked out at the snow.

"Look…I just wanted to say thanks for covering my arse the other night. You really didn't have to, I don't deserve any help from you after the way I've treated you this year."

"It was nothing." Karl shrugged. "I just…I don't know…I didn't want to see Audrey lose anyone else and you had even caught onto the fact that her bag was a portkey. It was a very bold thing to grab on with her even if you didn't know where it was going. You actually care about her, don't you?"

Sirius nodded. "She's one of my best friends, I couldn't deal with myself if anything happened to her that I couldn't prevent."

"I apologize for judging you then." said Karl.

"Eh, that's alright. Everyone here thinks I'm a jerk anyway. They're half right." Sirius shrugged, unashamed. Out of the corner of his eye, Karl saw something black moving down the hallway. His head snapped to the right, Sirius looked as well.

Hisoka.

"Hisoka!" Karl called, she turned. She looked the same as she did two nights ago, wearing all black once more and her long hair down over her shoulders. She glided towards them, stopping a few feet away.

"She's with you…isn't she?" Karl asked, piecing it together.

The geisha didn't speak, but responded with a small nod. She cocked her head, giving them a look and then walked away, she paused down the hallway, looked over her shoulder at them once more and began to walk again.

"I believe that would be our cue to follow…" said Sirius, Karl nodded.

Sirius wasn't sure where she was leading them, but it was at the west end of the castle. He had barely been around there, the classrooms down there were mostly unused. What he did know, was that this wing was normally where guests would stay, which explained Audrey's mentor.

Finally, she stopped at an oak door, looked at the boys again and pressed a finger to her lips. She walked in silently, they followed.

The room was a lot bigger than it seemed to be on the outside. It was dark, the only light came from the two large windows.

Hisoka pointed in the direction of the windows, where there was the back of a futon and a large mass of black hair falling over it.

She pulled her wand out and wrote in the air, silvery letters appeared in front of them.

"_She has been sleeping for the last two days, and because of what she's just experienced, the sleep can be very light. She could be awoken by any sound and her body will go into alert…she'll attack the first thing she sees."_

Karl wrote in the air with his wand as well.

**I didn't know that spell, I felt quite left out of the conversation.**

"_Even us?"_

Hisoka nodded.

"_How do you know?"_

"_Albus and I have tested it…it's a very normal thing, honestly. When someone like Audrey is emotionally unstable it isn't wise to be around her or disturb her."_

With that, Hisoka walked the two to the door and let them out. They returned to the Gryffindor common room and relayed the news.

They sat there for hours, in silence, the occasional cough would arise but nothing more.

"You guys…" James said, clearing his throat. "I'm sick of this, I'm sick of the silence. I know with everything that's just happened we're all a bit dumbfounded and sad, but I can't take it just sitting here. I need to do something. I'm going to go out on the grounds and if no one wants to accompany me, I'll fly. If someone wants to come with me then we'll have a snowball fight or something…"

"I would, James." Lily croaked, her voice hadn't been used much. "But I just don't think I can enjoy myself right now, I'd feel too bad."

"Hans and Petro would have wanted you to have a snowball fight, knowing them." Chantal said fondly, Sven and Karl agreed. "Or prank someone…"

"I'm going to go then and honor my fallen pranksters." James stood up, making his way to the portrait hole.

"I'll go." said Dmitri, standing up.

"I'll go too, mate. I need to throw things…" said Sirius. "Moony?"

Remus whispered something to Marlene, she nodded, and he got up as well. Peter followed.

"Sven, Karl?" Sirius asked, looking at the two. They shook their heads.

"I just can't right now…" Sven said sadly.

"I need to firecall my grandfather." said Karl. "He's helping Isaac with the arrangements."

Sirius gave them a sad nod and set off with the other Marauder's and Dmitri.

"Did you really ask Marlene's permission to go outside, Moony?" James snorted

"No, James!" Remus scolded with mock anger. "You're such a twit. I was asking her if she'd be alright if I left. She's been crying for days."

"Twin telepathy." James and Sirius said together, understanding as they finally made it outside.


	42. Chapter 42

Thanks for the reviews, Sarah Liz B, Weasleytwinslover87, and LizziePixie-Aiko!

Sad chapters, I know, but they are necessary for the story. There's a bit of humor in the next one. I was going to publish 43, but I'm a bit busy today, so it might have to wait until tomorrow.

Reviews please?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 42

_**Sleep is such a wonderful and awful thing, you can escape almost everything when you sleep. But facing the reality when you wake is such an awful consequence.**_

_**You can never truly hide from anything.**_

A day later, Sven came running into the Gryffindor common room.

"What is it?" Remus asked, as everyone looked at Sven. He was panting heavily, he must have run through quite a bit of the castle.

"Audrey…" He breathed. "can have…visitors…now…"

Marlene bolted from her chair but Remus grabbed her arm, holding her back for a second.

"Was it confirmed?"

Sven nodded. "Severus was allowed to see her this morning, Karl is over there now, I figured I'd run here and tell you all."

Marlene fought against Remus' arm, he let her go and she began to set off into a run. The boys, Chantal, Lily, and Sarah followed closely.

Marlene was far in the lead.

"Damn these ballerinas and their strong legs!" James huffed as Sarah sprinted past him to catch up with Marlene.

"I just can't believe we're losing to them!" Sirius said as they sped up.

"We're not ballerinas, we're step dancers! Get your shit right, James Potter!" Sarah called over her shoulder, not far from Marlene.

"Hey, Chantal, why aren't you up there?" Sirius called over his shoulder.

"Because Lily wanted a running buddy." Chantal replied. There was a great whoosh of air and Sirius saw someone pass him to his left

"DAMNIT, MOONY!"

Remus had caught into stride with Marlene, who was way up ahead, Sarah was behind them. Remus shot Sirius a wolfish grin over his shoulder.

"Damn special people." James muttered, receiving a whack in the back from Chantal.

Finally, at the end of the hallway they could just make out Karl and Audrey. He was just getting ready to leave. Marlene hurtled down the hallway, Audrey pulled Karl to one side of the hallway so he wouldn't get run over.

**If Audrey had been a human, with the speed that Marlene was coming at her and the sudden stop I'm sure they would have been thrown backwards. But she intercepted the hug easily.**

There was a bunch of muffled sobs heard between the two and words that weren't heard clearly from the others.

**A lot of people compared Marlene and Audrey to James and myself. I'm sure you could understand why**.

The others began to arrive, panting heavily, except for Remus and Chantal who appeared as though they hadn't run at all. There was a swarm of hugs and Audrey let them inside, she wanted a moment to see Karl off.

"Why is he leaving?" James asked, as Audrey came in and shut the door.

"He's got some business to attend to in regards to arrangements." Audrey replied, getting out the tea kettle from the makeshift kitchen and conjuring some cups for her eight visitors.

"So, where's Hisoka?" Lily asked, deciding to change the subject.

"She's out for the day with the headmaster." Audrey shrugged, pouring them some tea. "She was gone when I woke."

"How long have you been asleep?" Marlene asked.

"Er, about two and a half days." Audrey shrugged again, taking a seat next to her best friend. "It wasn't my choice."

"What do you mean?" asked Sirius. Hisoka had made it seem that Audrey had slept of her own accord.

"I was injected with a form of tranquilizer." Audrey said quietly. "I got a bit vicious…I was feeling quite…_vengeful_."

"Are they allowed to do that?" Lily whispered, incredulous.

"They aren't to a human student, but when it's someone like me, I pose a danger." Audrey replied, a little annoyed. "It's the same thing that they use in St. Mungo's when they do operations on magical creatures."

Remus shuddered, after he had been bitten by Fenrir Greyback as a boy his parents took him to St. Mungo's for treatment. He knew exactly what Audrey was referring to.

"They could have let me go home with my parents, but because everyone thinks they have more of a right to run my life than I do, I've been confined here." Audrey's eyes went rent for a moment.

"But…well…Karl and I, we saw Hisoka yesterday. And she led us in here, but she wasn't supposed to, she said we couldn't say a word because you were in a light sleep."

Audrey gave a cynical laugh. "She's an excellent liar isn't she? Rather charming at times. That tranquillizer is strong enough to put a giant to sleep, and kill a human on injection. My sleep was temperamental, but I can assure you my body was deadweight, I was incredibly drowsy."

"Well, Audrey if these men were out to kill your family, why would you want to go home?" James asked, changing the subject Audrey's eyes turned black for a moment.

"I don't know, James. Maybe because my father's there, my mother's there. They were allowed to go home and be alone. You don't think they want their heads just as much as they wanted my family? My little old grandmother? She didn't do anything, she's never hurt anyone but because of me she's dead."

"How do you know it's your fault, Audrey? It can't possibly be, you're just being hard on yourself." said Remus soothingly.

"It is." Audrey shook her head. "Vladimir told me he had seen me in action. I can never take that back."

"No…" Sven whispered, shocked. It was the first time he had spoken since arriving.

_**It seems it was a life that night many years ago for nine now. **_

Audrey wondered where Afanasi was now, she wished he was around to give her some sort of advice.

After a few moments of silence, Sirius spoke.

"Why? Why were they hunting you?"

The room shook for a moment, Audrey took a deep breath and looked at Sven.

_**I wasn't quite sure what to say.**_

Sirius spoke again. "Did you do something to Vladimir?"

Audrey shook her head. "About four years ago, Sven and I were walking around St. Petersburg one evening."

"We were heading home, and we heard this, er…man, pleading for his life in an alleyway. We should have went home, but we didn't. Curiosity got the better of us." said Sven.

"We saw Vladimir, and two of his associates bullying this skinny man. And we intervened, it was foolish, we really shouldn't have…I really shouldn't have…" Audrey's voice trailed off.

"_No, no. it was the right thing." _said Sven.

"_It just cost me my entire family." _She replied.

"_Audrey, we don't know the whole story." _Sven urged.

**We didn't know what that little exchange was, we didn't think it would be a good time to ask. But the way they sounded and the way they looked at each other. There was some secret.**

"The man, that was in trouble. He was an agent for the Russian Ministry at the time, before it was completely corrupted months after that. He wasn't a man at all, he was a vampire, which is quite monumental if you think about it." Sven picked up, before he continued Sarah asked.

"Why is it monumental?"

"There's a strict no creature policy enforced by the Russian ministry. They tolerate us, but we can't have jobs. We are always blamed if there's a crime or a murder, Dark Wizards get away with _everything_." Audrey said, staring into her tea for a moment.

"We gained a good friend that night, the vampire, Afanasi." Sven continued. "He's watched over us when we're doing stupid things…but I don't think this retaliation is about us sabotaging their attempts to kill him. Audrey, Ivan said there was something you needed to know…something that they had possibly known…"

"It's something apparently _everyone_ knows!" Audrey sneered, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. "Dumbledore even knows, yet for the last fourteen years _I_ haven't been allowed to know. My father always says '_When you're older, Audrey. Not now, Audrey.'_"

_**He also said "It's not safe, Audrey." …He was right.**_

"Ivan, my grandfather, my grandmother, Pavvel, Alina, Sophia, Jacques, Hans, and Petro. They _all _knew. Why is it that I didn't get to know? I have no idea, they were all killed over this secret."

"Did you ask your father?" Marlene asked, holding her friends hand.

"I tried to, at the palace the other night. He was too distraught, he became very angry with me and refused to talk about it. He simply ignored my question, like he always has."

_**Perhaps he wasn't so keen to say it out loud because he was afraid we were next, but after seeing our entire family slain because of it…I didn't understand how he could keep it from me any longer.**_

They changed the conversation again.

What did you say to someone after a situation like this?

"So…I know you've been out for a while, but seeing as you're awake and calm, will you be allowed back to the common room?" Peter asked. Audrey shook her head.

"I'm nowhere near calm, I'm angry beyond comprehension. I'm only keeping it together because you're all here. Had you not been…well, there might be a hole in this side of the school…" Audrey stirred her tea for a moment.

_**It was the truth, my emotions were far out of control. Saddness, anger, denial, anger, rage, depression…cyclical. Since I woke and registered everything that had happened I just wanted to be sleeping again…but I didn't want to be tranquillized. That made me feel weak and defenseless…**_

"But, you've controlled yourself for years just fine…I know this has been the worst thing ever, but you're fine with us." said James, cocking his head.

"I like you all, and I generally like most of the school population, but should I be around someone unfavorable…oh, let's use…_Igor Karkaroff _for an example, well, let's just say that I'd be thrown in Azkaban for my _erratic_ behavior." Audrey replied conversationally, as if she were back to her old self.

"Taking a leaf out of Hisoka's book?" Sirius caught on, she nodded.

"Look, guys, I'm just glad you're all here. This truly means a lot." Audrey's eyes went blue.

"We wanted to come sooner." said Sven.

"But Dumbledore was being all mysterious." James chimed in. "He just told us you were in the castle and not to go looking for you."

Audrey snorted. "Yes, it seems he would say something like that. I should be cleared in two weeks when the term starts again."


	43. Chapter 43

Thanks for the reviews, LizziePixie-Aiko, Kankananime123, JulesDragonlady, and Madmad237! :D

Sad chapter with a tiny bit of humor. Working on another chapter right now.

Thanks for all the story alerts lately everyone!

A review would be pleasant. ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 43

_January 1__st__._

The group had spent the New Year together, minus Audrey and Karl. Audrey hadn't been allowed to leave Hisoka's quarters and Hisoka refused her guests other than Karl for New Years Eve.

Karl returned early in the morning to find the common room littered with streamers and everyone either sleeping in the chairs, on the couches, or on the floor. He chuckled slightly.

"Morning, Gregorovitch." Sirius yawned, getting up from an armchair nearby.

"Morning, Black." Karl said, shaking his hand. "Happy New Year."

"Same to you." Sirius replied.

**Since the last week, we had been much more civil to each other. We had to be, after everything we went through. We saved each other's asses on multiple occasions that night. There was an unspoken truce. But I was still incredibly jealous that he was Audrey's, that didn't change**.

"How is she?"

Karl shrugged. "How would you be?"

"Good point." Sirius nodded. "Did you guys have the room to yourself or?"

"Yeah, it was a quiet night, nothing extravagant. Hisoka was spending the night with the Dumbledore and some of his friends. We both just needed a quiet night. I'm assuming it wasn't so quiet over here?" He wore a slightly amused expression looking around the common room.

"No…it really wasn't." Sirius chuckled, shaking his head. He grabbed some streamers and put them on James' head. Karl shook his head with a small smile.

After a few moments, he spoke.

"My grandfather sent me an owl, the funerals are tomorrow." Karl said quietly.

"Should we go?" Sirius asked, gesturing to his friends sleeping around the room. Karl shrugged.

"It'll be nice to have other humans there, but it's going to be a long day….nine wakes, nine burials. I know Chantal and some of Hans and Petro's friends were cleared to go by Madame Maxime. You can ask Dumbledore, I know Sven and I will be getting there via portkey."

"I think if I can get all of these brats up and running we'll all go see the Headmaster together, power in numbers." Sirius nodded.

"Good strategy." Karl replied, yawning. "I'm going to go up and change, I'll see you at breakfast."

Sirius nodded, and then decided to jump on James to wake him up.

"WAKE UP, JAMES!" Sirius yelled like a five year old. "IT'S A NEW YEAR! WAKE UP!"

James shoved Sirius off of him and laughed, their other friends grumbled at the two's obnoxious behavior. Marlene threw a pillow at them in annoyance.

"Good, now that you're all awake. I've got an announcement!" Sirius said, standing on the couch between a drowsy Chantal and Sven.

"Does he have to talk so loud?" Sven asked, holding his head.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Anyway, the funerals are tomorrow. And I know Sven and Chantal are cleared to go but for the rest of us, well…I don't know…I think we should but it's up to you lot."

"Of course." said Lily.  
>"Duh, mate." James chimed in.<br>"Definitely." said Marlene.  
>"Without question." said Remus.<br>"Certainly!" squeaked Peter.  
>"Absolutely." nodded Sarah.<p>

"Good then, we'll have to go see the Headmaster sometime today and get it sorted out. Together of course."

They all nodded and began to plan.

**Our first plan, was the easiest. We were simply going to go and ask him ourselves after breakfast that morning. However, that didn't work out so well. He ignored us and left, seeming a bit occupied.**

**Our second plan, was to try to get to the Headmaster through Professor McGonagall, but she merely said he was busy and didn't let us explain ourselves at all.**

"Now what?" Sarah asked, frustrated as the group sat down in an empty corridor.

"Don't fret, my dear Puffer. I have an idea." James said, a mysterious glint in his eyes.

"Oh god." said Lily, cradling her head in her hands. "This can't be good…"

James whipped out a bunch of dung bombs from his pocket, giving Sirius, Remus, and Peter looks. Sirius and Peter emptied their pockets.

"Merlin's beard." Sarah groaned, Marlene shook her head.

"I normally wouldn't condone this." said Remus, grinning as he emptied his pockets. "But it's for Audrey."

"Yeah, it's for Russia." James nodded. "You girls should run to the end of the corridor now, this won't be pretty. We'll catch up with you."

The girls sighed and did as they were told, they hid behind a pillar for extra measure. The explosion was awful and the boys managed to come away from it fairly unscathed.

As they approached them, the girls began to walk back from them a few faces.

"What? Do we offend with our odor?" asked James.

"Yes." said Sarah, holding her nose in disgust. "You guys just had to use Dungbombs."

Within seconds, the Hogwart's Caretaker, Filch, came around the corner, screeching in annoyance about the mess.

"GO TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE." He screeched, beckoning the boys to follow him.

"Okay!" Sirius and James said excitedly. The girls followed at a distance, and before they knew it, they were at the Headmaster's door.

"Ah, Argus. Happy New Year, what brings you here?" said Dumbledore in his usual manner.

"These four." Filch replied, shaking angrily and he left.

"He can't do math, can he?" Sirius asked.

"Very amusing, Mr. Black." Albus beamed. "I'd tell you boys to sit but it's quite dirty. And I believe I know why you're here, a very clever idea it was to create such a distraction. Had you just waited until after lunch I would have summoned you all to my office to discuss this."

There were a series of _oohs _from the seven.

"Well this is awkward." Sarah said, twisting her hair for a moment.

"It is incredible the things that people will do to come through for their friends." the Headmaster replied, pacing for a moment. "I admire your persistence. I was going to say tonight, should you wish to attend the memorial service, a portkey will be ready for all of you. However, I see that you all wish to attend. Be here at eight thirty tomorrow morning, after breakfast. Dress properly, it will be cold."

"Well, that was easy." said Marlene, as they left the office and headed down the hallway.

The next morning, they woke and got dressed early.

"D'you think she left yet?" Marlene asked.

"She did." replied Chantal. "They left a half hour ago, Karl and Sven went with her for support."

"It makes sense." said Remus, nodding as they knocked on the Headmaster's door. It opened by itself, and no one was there. On the desk, there was a note.

"_This plate is your portkey, Hisoka and I have left already. Hold on tight."_

James shrugged and said. "Ready?"

They all nodded, and everything begin to spin.

**I remembered the last time I had used a portkey and I honestly felt ill.**

They landed in a crash in three feet of snow, everyone shook themselves off. It was snowing there, heavier than it was in England by far.

"Where do you think it is?" Marlene asked, looking around. They were at the bottom of a hill and all they could see was white.

_Ding dong, ding dong._

"This way." said Chantal, beginning to trudge up the hill towards the sound of bells. In a snap, someone had apparate right next to her, wearing all black. Everyone flourished their wands, a little alarmed.

"Relax. It's me, Teagan." said the Banshee, taking off her hood for a moment. Everyone relaxed.

"So sorry." said Remus. "We're a little on edge."

"Understandable. This robe probably doesn't help much, but its customary." said Teagan, intercepting the odd looks some gave her. "When someone dies, a family member, or a friend, banshees wear a black robe with the hoods on. If the hood is over the eyes, that is the person directly affected, a parent, family member, and so on. If the hood is up on the head like mine is, it's out of respect. Audrey and Airleas will probably be wearing them."

They all nodded, and began to set off up the hill. All they saw was a rickety, broken down church, it was incredibly tiny and Sirius didn't know how everyone and nine caskets was supposed to fit inside. But they entered anyway.

**I should have known better, magic never ceases to surprise me. The chapel was ten times bigger than it was on the outside. The walls on the inside were adorned with painted creatures of all sorts. The guests inside, looked just like the walls. There were centaurs, two giants, a group of vampires who stood with Hisoka, talking quietly, some identifiable werewolves, elderly veelas, and banshees. All of them, wearing exactly what Tegan wore, or a variation of it.**

"Chantal! Teagan!" someone called as they entered. A banshee with three braids with feathers intertwined in them came over and wrapped the two in a hug.

"Have you talked to her at all, Darcy?" Teagan asked, the teacher shook her head.

"I don't think now would be the best time, with all these creatures here." Darcy replied, looking over Chantal and Teagan's shoulder. "Humans?"

They all nodded.

"Friends?"

Chantal nodded.

"Good…if you were here to crash or be rude I would have to harm you. But I always forget that Audrey has human friends as well. Such a nice girl." Darcy said, bidding them a goodbye and going over to talk to a werewolf.

"She's a bit biased. She doesn't hang around wizards much." Chantal said to the group.

**It had to be the saddest and strangest funeral I had ever been to, but it was the only other funeral I had ever been to at the time. The first being one of my great uncle's who I barely knew, and though I didn't know Audrey's family, I spent the previous four months with her cousins. I didn't know them as long as Sven or Karl did, but it was quite an impact.**

**I watched her from across the room, the only thing that was visible was her mouth. Though her eyes were concealed by a hood I knew they were probably black. Pure sadness, and I could feel my heart breaking just thinking about it.**

**Because it was a mass funeral of sorts, there was time between for everyone to mingle and to pay their respects. It started with Ivan, Audrey's great uncle, then both of her grandparents, then her uncle, his son, her aunts, and their sons. Though it was hard to just witness everyone's emotions around me, I felt myself take a hard hit when watching and listening to Audrey's father say a long eulogy about his parents. I loathed my parents, with every fiber of my being, and I had never really seen a relationship between child and parent in such a way.**

It was after Petro's ceremony when Audrey had finally seen her friends. She first saw Marlene and like their meeting in the hallway a few days before they ran to each other.

Audrey threw off her hood for a moment, looking at all of her friends. "What are you all doing here?" She blinked back a few tears.

**Her eyes seemed to be in this permanent state of black, they would occasionally flicker back to normal for a brief second. They reminded me of a light being extinguished.**

**If you would have taken a first look at her that day, between the black cloak, her hair, and her eyes, you would have thought she was a monster. But I knew her, and I knew better.**

"We wouldn't miss it, Audrey." James said softly, hugging her. She wore a shocked expression for a moment, she was surprised that James had actually called her by her full name.

"_Audrina, prihodit'!"_

Audrey pulled her hood over her eyes once more. "I must go, the processions going to start." She let out a shaky breath, Sirius squeezed her shoulder before she left to find Karl and her parents.

It was getting darker, and the snow was still heavy.

_**Good bye was too soon and then it was just…**_

_**Darkness.**_


	44. Chapter 44

I meant to get this out yesterday, oh well. We're moving along people!

Thanks for the reviews, Madmad237 (I do too sometimes. :P), LizziePixie-Aiko, Sarah Liz B, , JulesDragonlady, and weasleytwinslover87! You guys are awesome!

I won't be publishing another today, but I'll be back sometime tomorrow. :D

If you like pizza, I think you should submit a review please. :]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 44

_**January...**_

_**Sadness.**_

_**February...**_

_**Emptiness.**_

_**March...**_

_**Depression.**_

_**April...**_

_**Depression.**_

_**May...**_

_**Depression.**_

_**A year I had expected to be so great, surrounded by people I had cared about had turned into a nightmare within just four months. That was all it took...four months to ruin a year, four months to set the tone between everyone.**_

_**Four months to wipe out an entire family.**_

_**The silence between the spaces was deafening, within the school and with my parents. I wrote to them, as I always did throughout the school year but the letters weren't long. Neither of us had anything to say to each other, my mother of course was the stronger of the three of us. She was the rock that was keeping my father and I from floating off of the ground as we were being drained of the happiness that had always kept us tethered there.**_

_**Seeing friends of Hans and Petro around the school was just a reoccurring reminder of everything. They were always so kind and had taken to walking alongside me in the halls from time to time if Karl, Sven, or any of my other friends weren't around.**_

_**Igor Karkaroff had been scarce, I did not know if it were because he was punished for the damage he had caused me or if he were frightened of me. I like to think a little of both.**_

_**I was so hollow for the rest of the year, but I was astonished how Karl and my friends hadn't given up on me. I wasn't capable of feeling much joy during those months, but I was so grateful for them, and I reminded them of that often.**_

_**I didn't allow myself much free time after Christmas, any time that I had that wasn't spent on homework or studies was spent in the dance studio, or practicing cello. I had to keep myself busy.**_

_**I tried...I really did...**_

_**I was becoming a professional when it came to faking it. Hisoka had wanted me to master that art from the moment she met me, she had always told me it would help me in my professional career. Suffering through depression was the perfect time to master that skill, but she never commented much on it in those months...the liar knows a liar quite well. She never directly called me out on it, but Severus did. He seemed to be my only friend that noticed my ruse easily, the others were thoroughly convinced that I was fine until June.**_

_**The term ended on the third Friday in June, and though the trees were blooming and the weather was warm for what seemed to be the first time in ages, yet I still felt as cold as I did in January.**_

_**The end of the year feast was bigger than usual, it was not only an ending celebration, but a send off for the other schools that lasted well into the early hours of the morning.**_

The common room was absolute chaos, everyone was packing, Gryffindors and guests alike. It seemed that everyone had taken to packing at the last minute because of the long celebration the previous evening.

Shouts of "Have you seen my Quidditch robes?" or "Do you have my shoes?" and other things along those lines we heard all around. The exchanges of addresses and tearful goodbyes too.

Durmstrang was set to leave at ten that morning, Beauxbatons at eleven, and finally the students of Hogwarts would be heading to Hogsmeade to the Hogwarts Express at noon.

The Durmstrang students by far were the quickest to pack and get their ship loaded, there was a swarm of people outside, saying their good byes, exchanging a laugh.

"I'll be back." Audrey said to her friends, she began to weave her way through the crowd. She wanted to find Sven and Karl.

"Is she alright?" Sirius asked, looking at his friends.

"She's seemed fine these last few months, she was just laughing the other day." said Lily, biting her lip.

"Maybe she's upset because Sven and Karl are leaving." suggested James.

"That's probably it." said Sarah.

Audrey found Sven first, there were no words between the two, and though it had been nearly six months to the day, the tears were still fresh. The stood there hugging for a long time.

"_You take care of yourself. Promise me_." He said, blinking back some tears.

"_I'll try." _She gave a nervous laugh. _"Don't go doing anything dumb at night without Afansi."_

"_Of course, mum." _He replied slyly, Audrey laughed again, hugging him.

_**It was the worst sort of feeling, tears and laughter. We were trying to hold onto all of the good memories we had. We were trying to grow up and be brave, the world we knew was gone, shattered by the harsh reality of our society. I would not see Sven again. I had no reason to return to St. Petersburg, there was too much pain.**_

Sven held her at arms length, looking at her. He knew what she was about to do, he could just tell.

"_You should go find him..." _He said, looking at her. She nodded, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

It didn't take Audrey long to find him, he was standing in the outdoor hallway, looking out onto the lake and talking with Severus. As soon as they saw her, Severus shook Karl's hand, bidding him a few words and a farewell and left.

"_Hey_." Karl gave her a small smile.

"_Hi_." She said, sitting next to him. He put her head on his shoulder and she smiled for a moment.

"_I need to talk to you..._" She sighed, as they stared out at the lake.

"_I'm listening." _He replied, stroking her hair.

"_I don't know how to even begin..." _Audrey gave a nervous laugh. Karl knew what was coming, he had a feeling it would happen. Her face was obstructed by her hair but he could feel how sad and nervous she was.

"_Karl...I..."_ Audrey paused, she opened her mouth to talk again but was at a loss for words.

"_I'm not quite right, since Christmas...and I can't keep you tethered to me while I'm in such a state of...I don't even know what to call it. I'm beyond miserable, scared, and confused more than ever. I don't want you to be stuck with me and get infected by it when you could be so much happier. You deserve to be happy. And I don't want to be the person that stands in the way of that."_

Karl was about to speak, Audrey could feel his chest slightly lift as he took a breath. She held up a hand, she wanted to finish.

"_I love you. I seriously do, I knew it from the first time I saw you at your grandfather's shop nearly five years ago. I can't put it in any other form of words to express the feelings that I have for you and the large place you hold in my heart. But when you love someone that much, you want them to be happy. Last summer, I was fine with the prospect of being in a long distance relationship because I knew I would head home from school then get on the first train to St. Petersburg and see you. Everything changed this year...everything. I don't think I'll ever return to Russia, it'll hurt too much...and what is the point of being in a relationship with someone who you can't see? Someone who is miserable and disconnected...You deserve better-" _

Audrey let in a shaky breath, Karl didn't say anything but turned and pulled her into his chest, pressing his lips to her forehead.

"_Audrey, I hardly think I deserve any better than you. You're brilliant. But I understand, trust me, I do. Don't beat yourself up over it. You're going through a rough time, and it saddens me greatly." _Karl whispered in her ear.

"_I'm sorry." _She whispered, looking up at him.

"_Don't be, Igor will be though..."_ He hissed, still angry. He then softened and said. _"I understand that you may not come back to St. Petersburg...but I do hope that I see you someday. I'll miss you terribly...and I'll __**always **__love you." _

They hugged for a while, and then he stood up.

"_I'll be back, I just want to go say goodbye to the Brits." _He winked at her, she gave him a tiny laugh and stood, leaning against a pillar. Severus had shown up at her side, giving her a one armed hug.

Karl made his way through the crowd, he hadn't told Audrey the full truth. He had already said goodbye to them, but there was one he needed to see.

"Sirius." Karl said, approaching him. "I need to talk to you...alone."

"Alright." Sirius replied, cocking an eyebrow as the two made their way through the crowd to a secluded spot.

"Is everything okay with you and Audrey?" Sirius asked, not entirely sure why Karl had wanted to speak with him.

"Audrey's not alright, something I figured but she's been hard to read these last few months." Karl began, Sirius nodded in agreement, Audrey seemed to be recovering but sometimes he wasn't completely sure. Whenever he would tell any of the others what they thought they would shoot him down instantly. They would say things like _'Sirius, I think you're just over protective.' _or '_She's laughing and smiling...hardly seems depressed to me.'_

"She's pretty depressed, and we broke it off..."

**I tried not to look so happy about this, it'd be rude. It'd be even more disrespectful of me to be happy about Audrey being down.**

"Why?" Sirius asked, alarmed.

"It would be too complicated, she may never return to Russia again and the chances of us seeing each other are incredibly slim now. She wants to sort herself out, and I know she's going to be making her professional debut in six months. She'll be busy and she'll have a new life, and maybe that's what she needs after all of this." Karl stared out at the lake for a moment.

**I had to agree with him on that, she needed a fresh start.**

Sirius nodded.

"But really, what I came over for is this...I know you're in love with her. And she's free now, I wouldn't be surprised if you pounced on that opportunity. You are a loyal friend to her, and I think she doesn't completely see that because you joke around too much. You have my full approval...but should I _ever _hear that you hurt her..." Karl gave him an uncharacteristically dark look.

**For once, I was a little frightened of Karl Gregorovitch. He meant it, he **_**genuinely **_**meant it.**

Sirius gave him a quick nod. "...How?"

"I can see it when you look at her." He shrugged, looking over to the outside hallway where Severus and Audrey sat. He turned back to Sirius, extending his hand. "Take good care of her?"

"_Always_." Sirius replied, shaking his hand. Karl made his way back through the crowd to find Sven and go over to Audrey and Severus.

After all was said and done, the tears and the goodbyes, the Hogwarts students began making their way to Hogsmeade to the train station.

James let out a great sigh of relief when they had found a compartment, he dramatically plopped down onto the cushy seats.

"Thank Merlin!"

"You are such a drama queen, James." Marlene shook her head, sitting next to Audrey and Lily.

"And you're a man, Marly." James retorted. Marlene had gotten up and began to smack him.

"Ow...ow...ow..._OW_! _MARRRRRLLLYY_."

Everyone laughed, Audrey gave them a watery smile.

"Marlene, keep hitting him, Audrey's smiling." Sirius grinned, receiving a smack on the arm from James.

"Don't encourage her!"  
>"I'll encourage her all I want, mate."<p>

"REEEEMUS! DO SOMETHING!" James begged.  
>"Sorry, James. But you called my girlfriend a man." Remus tutted, laughing.<p>

Audrey stared out the window for a bit, listening to her friends bicker, Marlene hitting James, and James whining about it. She had to smile a bit, they always gave her some weird form of hope even when everything else was so dark.


	45. Chapter 45

Thanks for the reviews, Madmad237, LizziePixie-Aiko, and Mystery Muffin! :D

Another chapter will be out sometime tomorrow… (a.k.a. today. :P)

Review? ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 45

_**I spent my summer days in constant work, I was at the dance studio eight hours a day with Chantal and Teagan, then I would go home and practice with my mother during my free time, which added an additional four hours. Half the day was spent dancing, the other half was dedicated to sleeping and cello. Hisoka came by every other day for lessons, as I was set to make my professional debut that coming November. Given the recent events, my father wasn't so sure…he was considering revoking his decision about me debuting at fifteen. When he voiced this opinion I could feel my heart constrict…it was the one thing that kept me going throughout the seemingly long summer. It was my opportunity for a getaway.**_

_**I had my stage name set for me years prior, and Ayla was the perfect escape. She wasn't depressed, she wasn't abnormal on the outside, she didn't have any problems, and she didn't have a family to grieve for.**_

_**Fortune was on my side that day, Hisoka was there to bargain with my father. Just as she was a charming liar, she was a master at bargaining…something I never would have expected. After all, it was Hisoka who had originally bargained with my father to have me debut at fifteen when I could have debuted a year earlier. The only thing my father strictly forbid was entertaining in Russia, or for Russians at all…and that, I did not mind.**_

_**To this day, I am not so sure what made him give in…I think it was for my great uncle Ivan. He had been so excited to see me debut, but he would never see.**_

_**My father seemed to book more jobs than ever that summer, sometimes his carpentry would take him as far as to the other side of the country. **__**One day in July, I asked my mother if my father would ever come back…he had been gone for three days, and that had never happened before.**_

"_Yes, Audrey…he will come back."_

_**She had said it with such certainty and calmness, something that astonished me greatly at the time. I was very well aware of my mothers seeing eye, but for the longest time I was so naïve about it…until I had realized I inherited it with much force later in my life.**_

_**My mother had reasoned that my father took jobs farther away from our home to escape, just as I had taken to spending twelve hours in the dancing every day. I was surprised when my parents didn't object to it, my father was blinded by his own pain as was I. My mother on the other hand, was our rock.**_

_**I was not completely 'under a rock' for the summer, I wrote to all of my friends, even Sven, Karl, and Afanasi. Though the letters were scarce to and from Russia, this was a very difficult time and we had no words that wouldn't remind us of what we had lost. During mid-July I had received a frantic letter from Remus telling me that his parents were going away for two weeks during the full moon. They weren't quite sure what to do with him…the Lupins lived in a heavily wooded area, just like our family, Chantal's family, and Teagan's family. It was safer, but that didn't mean that Remus couldn't easily find the human population as a werewolf. **_

_**Of course, my mother and I had jumped on the opportunity to have a house guest. My father seemed keen for the first time since he had arrived home, and so Remus spent a week and a half at our house. His parents had dropped him off, they were rather curious about us, harmless, but curious. I think they were shocked by how green my mother was standing next to me.**_

Audrey helped Remus heave his trunk upstairs and into the guest room of their cottage though he kept refusing.

_**My father always liked to change our house around, just for the fact that he simply could. It had always been a one floor cottage, but when I came home that summer I found that my room was on another floor, as well as theirs and the guest room.**_

"Audrey, I'm a werewolf, I can get it myself." Remus insisted, he was far too kind.

"Remus, your our guest I can't just let you heave it upstairs by yourself." Audrey huffed.

"Show off." He joked around, Audrey shot him a glare, her eyes turning red. The two broke off laughing.

"This is it." She said, pushing open the door to the guest room. Remus looked around at the wood paneled walls and at the velvety red curtains and bedding.

"Fancy." He said, Audrey laughed. "My father designed this guest room with my great uncle in mind, Gryffindor colors."

_**I was slowly gaining the strength to be able to mention my relatives…I suppose my great uncle Ivan was the easiest, he was the oldest, and we never expect our elderly to live long.**_

Remus nodded, sitting down on the bed, he looked at her. "I think it's wonderful…thank you."

"Anytime, Remus. Anytime." Audrey laughed for a moment, then took in his appearance. You could tell the full moon was coming, he looked sick. "I just wish you felt better…"

"Very observant, Ru-Audrey." Remus said, he always managed to keep calm. He had refrained from calling Audrey by the Marauders' nickname for her. He was afraid it would upset her, though Sirius and James still called her that.

"You can say Russia, Remus. I am Russian after all…" Audrey said, surprisingly calm.

"I'm sorry…I just…since…" Remus began, awkwardly. Audrey nodded her head and sat next to him.

"I completely understand where you were going with that, don't worry. James and Sirius still address my letters as _'To Russia, from the Brits._'

"They write you together?" Remus laughed, how typical of his two friends.

"Together and separately. All in all, I get three letters."

'_But you haven't been responding much.' _Remus thought to himself, James and Sirius told him that the previous week. Sirius still suspected that Audrey was depressed and Remus could see why. James on the other hand was in denial.

"Oh and Marlene told me to tell you to be careful." Audrey added, smirking. Remus smacked a palm to his forehead.

"She thinks I'll hurt myself. Werewolves are only a danger to others…"

"Aww, but Remus she just cares so much about you…and that's saying something for Marly." She giggled.

"Yeah, seeing as you're her other half."

"I'm all knowing, Remus." Audrey said grinning, making wavy motions with her arms, he laughed. She then turned to the window and looked outside for a moment, facing away from him. After a few moments of silence he spoke once more.

"Audrey, what have you been doing all summer? How have you been?"

_**I had no guard in the summer, I had no reason to practice being Ayla unless Hisoka was around. There was no use hiding my emotions from my parents…and I must have not put on that façade when Remus arrived. Not completely at least…**_

"Why do you ask?" Audrey replied, her voice wavered slightly and it gave her away. Remus wasn't as oblivious as his friends, he picked up on incredibly subtle cues, maybe it was because he was a werewolf.

"Audrey…I cant explain how I know per say, but you look down. You may not be acting that way, but I just know. I see it. It's perfectly normal after what you've been through." Remus replied consolingly.

"I know." Audrey sighed, admitting defeat. "I…I've just been trying to slide it out of my head. I've been dancing twelve hours a day, I play cello for four hours, and the other parts of the day I hang out with Chantal and Teagan outside of the studio."

"So you sleep how long?"

"I don't." Audrey shrugged. "Maybe an hour or a half hour."

"_Audrey_!" Remus scolded.

"What?"

"Audrey, it's not healthy! I know we're not human but that doesn't mean we don't need rest." Remus replied, looking at her evenly.

"I know, Remus. Trust me, I know. I've been very careful, especially after dancing for so many hours. But I just can't sleep."

"Why?"

Audrey heaved a sigh and hoisted herself onto the windowsill. She put her head in her hands for a moment, Remus was about to get up and approach her when her head snapped up again.

"Audrey, you can tell me anything, you know that…I'm not dumb like James and Sirius…and Peter." He gave her a small smile.

She rested her head against the wall, looking at him. Her eyes were turning from yellow to blue to purple repeatedly.

"Everytime I close my eyes to go to sleep, I see it all, again. I haven't had a good nights sleep since I arrived home, and I don't know why…"

"So you compensate by dancing for long periods of time?" Remus snorted, looking at her. It wasn't healthy for her.

"At first, I figured it would over exhaust me so I'd go into a deeper sleep. It worked for a few weeks but I'd still have the nightmares…plus, we go back to competition this year in the Hogwarts studio. Might as well keep up." Audrey shrugged. "And you do realize that your girlfriend is also dancing twelve hours a day, right?"

"Yes, but don't drag Marly into this. She's human and she spends the other twelve hours sleeping or eating." Remus said crossly.

Audrey shrugged, she figured it was worth a shot.

"Well, Remus. You don't have to worry about me over exerting, I told Darcy I would be out of the studio this entire week and a half that you're here. I'm not over exerting myself."

"Good." Remus sighed. "Audrey, I just don't want to see you fall ill or get hurt."

"We don't fall ill…at least, I've never fallen ill, and I've never seen my father fall ill. I don't know if it's a common thing." Audrey replied thoughtfully.

"Well, let's not try and find that out then." Remus said.

"Okay, _father_."

The two spent the week walking around in the woods, hanging out with Chantal and Teagan, and talking. The full moon hit in the middle of the week, and despite Airleas and Isaac's offers for Remus to stay inside, he refused.

"But we've all destroyed the house at one point or another." Airleas insisted.  
>"Really, we have." Isaac nodded.<br>"Yeah, I blew up the den last year by accident." Audrey chimed in.

"How?" Remus cocked his head, amused.

"She stubbed her toe." Isaac snorted, rolling his eyes. Audrey playfully hit him with a rolled up newspaper.

Remus burst into laughter.

"So will you stay inside now?" Airleas asked, Remus shook his head.

"Honestly, it's not the house I'm worried about now that you've said that. But I like to roam the woods when I transform, it clears my head."

"That makes sense." Isaac said, taking a sip of water. "I roam the woods all the time."

"Because you're a nutter." Airleas replied. "Remus at least has a reason to roam the woods. You just do it when you're bored."

Isaac snorted. "I hunt in the woods…and if I recall correctly it was _I_ who found you in the snow in the Koryak mountains. If I hadn't found you, you wouldn't have survived."

"_Yes_, yes. I know." Airleas waved him off muttering something about him being a hopeless romantic. Audrey and Remus snickered.

When it came time for Remus to transform, he went outside and into the trees. Isaac and Airleas had went to sleep and Audrey went to her room and 'went to sleep' as well.

_**My parents didn't know that I spent time with Remus while he was a werewolf. They knew werewolves wouldn't be a danger to any of us, but since December, they kept a very close eye on me. Which translated to…don't go in the woods after sun down.**_

_**Of course…I went into the woods after sun down.**_

Audrey opened her window quietly and looked for a rock to summon, when she couldn't find one she decided to just fly down on a wind. It didn't take her long to find Remus, she could smell him. After about two years of going out with Remus during the full moon he always recognized her in his werewolf form.

He let out a high pitched whine and lead Audrey further into the woods. There was an odd pile of leaves stacked together in a rectangular shape. Werewolf Remus pointed his paw at it.

"Remus…what?" Audrey began, but then Remus purposely fell to the ground next to the bed and mimicked sleeping.

"Oh Merlin." She said, slapping her hand to her forehead. His paw latched onto her shirt and pulled her down to the ground. She landed in the leaves face down, Remus breathed heavily which sounded luck a chuckle.

"Jerk." Audrey muttered sarcastically, spitting out some leaves. Remus nudged her.

"Fine, fine!" She held her hands up in surrender. "I'll try!"

_**Even as a werewolf, Remus could be quite a nag, but he always meant well and for that I was grateful.**_

_**I slipped into sleep briefly, only to be woken by yells and flashes of light. It was always the same night, just different parts. I often dreamt about slipping in the blood, running away from Vladimir, and Vladimir slamming my head onto the floor and speaking to me.**_

Audrey woke with a start, sweating. She nearly jumped when she heard a whine to her left. Remus cocked his head, concerned.

"I told you…" She whispered, her eyes went blue for a moment. "It's been happening every night since I've gotten home."

The werewolf nodded.

_**What many do not understand, or do not choose to understand, is that werewolves are incredibly intelligent though they are seen as primitive and savage…which some are.**_

Remus extended his arm and wrapped it around Audrey tightly, pulling her into him. She rested her head on his chest and sighed.

"Another sleepless night for both of us, my friend."

The werewolf grunted in response.

_**A week after Remus left, I was home alone for the afternoon when I heard a noise. My parents had gone out to a colony two hours north, my mother was teaching a class and my father was repairing some of the cottages he had built for them.**_

_Clunk._

_**I remember my heart thudding in my chest, I must admit I was quite paranoid.**_

Audrey crept out of her room and down the hallway quietly. In a split second, she lost her balance, screamed, and a canvas bag slipped over her.


	46. Chapter 46

Thanks for the reviews, LizziePixie-Aiko, Sarah Liz B, weasleytwinslover87, and mystery muffin!

Why do I publish at such odd hours of the night? Oh well, here's chapter 46. :D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 46

Audrey began to hiss furiously, clawing at the bag. This wasn't going to happen, she wouldn't let it, and if they wanted to kill her like they killed her family she wasn't going to go down without destroying the house and trapping them inside.

She could feel her captors moving downstairs through the bag. Once downstairs, the bag was removed and she almost pounced but stopped herself once she saw who stood over her.

"You hiss like a _tiger_, Russia!" said a smirking Sirius Black.

"Yeah, you're like a _Siberian tiger_" James Potter mimicked an awful Russian accent. _"_…except you're not all white." he added, playing with a strand of Audrey's hair. He was grinning widely.

"White complexion…close enough, mate." Sirius chimed in.

"Fucking Merlin…what the bloody hell?" Audrey breathed, sitting up and looking at her two friends.

"Well, that's not the greeting I expected, but I guess I'll take it." said James, shrugging and plopping down on the floor next to Audrey.

"So how's summer goin', Russia?" Sirius asked, plopping down on the other side of her.

"Great." Audrey said, prepared for the lying.

"Lies!" chimed James, Audrey shot him a glare.

"We know you're not sleeping, Russia." said Sirius.  
>"We also know that you've been dancing twelve hours a day." added James.<p>

Audrey then pieced it together. "REMUS JOHN LUPIN, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Over here." said Remus, walking out of the kitchen with a glass of water. He wore a mischievous smirk.

"And what was with the whole canvas bag thing? Do you know how scary that was?" Audrey scolded them, hitting James and Sirius.

"Well, Russia. We knew you wouldn't go willingly." said James, smirking.

"Go willingly? What are you-" Audrey began but Sirius held up a hand to let him talk.

"_Weeeeelll, _Audwee. Moony wrote us while he was here at your lovely cottage and said that you seemed down and weren't sleeping. So James and I asked Elly and Henry if we could bring you to the Potters, they of course said yes and here we are."

"I hardly think my mother will let me-" Audrey protested.

"Already taken care of, Audrey." said Remus, smirking. "I asked Airleas two weeks ago, she said she'd pack your trunk before she left for the Tinworth colony. Your dad was fine with it too, only because your mother was."

"You're all assholes." Audrey said flatly, they laughed.

"We love you too, Russia." James said, hugging her. Audrey shook her head, her friends were crazy.

"How did you all get here? I would have heard you if you floo'd in." Audrey said, looking around at the three.

Sirius strode to the door and in walked Henry Potter.

"Nice house, Audrey." said Henry, looking around. The likeness between him and his son was uncanny.

"Thank you, Henry." Audrey replied, pointing at James and Sirius. "I cannot believe these two."

"There are three of us." Sirius mocked.

"Oh, I know." Audrey sassed. "Remus has credibility with me, you two on the other hand…"

James and Sirius both formed perfect O's with their mouths, feigning shock.

"Audrey, I thought you loved us!" James whined.  
>"We're good looking and quite clever." Sirius interjected, Henry laughed.<p>

"You threw a canvas sack over me!" Audrey exclaimed. "Kidnapping much?"

"Well that is essentially what we're doing, Russia." said Sirius. "though we have permission by all guardians. So if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to the Potter's."

"Oh I'm sorry Mr. Black," Audrey feighed a snobby voice. "Let me go get my trunk then." Audrey laughed, shaking her head at her friends as she jogged upstairs to her room. She knew Remus was always honest, but she double checked her trunk just to make sure.

"All set?" said a smooth voice that made her jump. Audrey shot Sirius a glare, he laughed.

"You're still jumpy from before!" He smirked, wrapping his arms around her. Audrey shoved him away after a few seconds, laughing.

"What are you doing up here?"

"Helping you, of course." Sirius said, for once he wasn't puffing out his chest. Audrey noticed he didn't have to, he seemed to become broader and burlier over the summer.

"I don't need help, Sirius." She laughed. "But thanks."

"Eh, too bad." said James, appearing out of nowhere and taking one side of the trunk. Sirius took the other. Audrey grabbed her cello.

"Why are you bringing that?" Sirius whined. "Haven't you practiced enough?"

"No." Audrey replied. "Plus, if I'm spending the last remaining weeks of the summer at James' Hisoka will have to go there for my lessons. I've got my debut this year."

James began to fake sob like an old mother. "My little Russia is growing up so fast."

"When do you debut?" asked Sirius.

"Hisoka says November, not sure of the date yet." Audrey replied as they made their way down the stairs. "Hey, James! Is Marly coming when her camp is over?"

"Duh, Russia." said James. "It's not a party without Marlene constantly smacking me with some object."

"It's because you're a moron." said Remus, holding Omi's (Audrey's owl) cage.  
>"And because Marly likes entertaining Audrey with your pain." Sirius grinned, remembering the train ride back in June.<br>"That too." James replied thoughtfully.

They made their way out the door and met with Henry. James and Sirius stood Audrey's trunk upright and clung onto it. Sirius intertwined his arm with Henry, Remus took Henry's arm on the other side, and Audrey intertwined her arm with Remus'.

They landed with a thud in the Potters' kitchen.

"You were never quite good with landing." said a musical voice. Audrey looked up and noticed Hisoka Emi sitting at the Potter's kitchen table with Mrs. Potter, drinking tea.

"You're a bit creepy sometimes…" Audrey retorted. Hisoka giggled.

"I apologize, I couldn't help it. Your mother wrote me with your friend's plan." Hisoka replied.

"And you're sitting in a chair! Will wonders never cease?" Audrey replied innocently. Hisoka smiled.

"Elly insisted, Audrey-san." Hisoka beamed. "Now I must get going, I'll give you the night off, see you in two days."

She thanked Elly for her hospitality then walked out the kitchen door and disapparated.

"You know, if I didn't know she was a vampire, I'd totally hit on her." Sirius said, Audrey elbowed him and he laughed. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding! I know she's your mentor. Relax. Come on, I'll help you bring all this upstairs."

Audrey nodded, Sirius grabbed her trunk by himself, Audrey took her cello. In the distance, she heard James mutter. "He's such a bloody show off." Remus laughed.

Sirius gracefully kicked open the familiar door at the end of the hallway, it was the same room Audrey had stayed in last summer. The room was completely different this time, it was light blue instead of lilac and had gold curtains and bedding.

Audrey cocked her head at the room, Sirius laughed.

"Elly likes to change the colors of the rooms. She says it adds vibrancy."

"Ahh." Audrey replied, setting her cello in the corner. She opened her trunk quickly and unpacked her stand and set it beside the cello case.

"You look different, Dalio." Sirius said, cocking his head.

"So do you, Black." Audrey replied flatly, turning back to her trunk. He never used her name, it got annoying sometimes.

"What's different about me?" Sirius breathed down her neck. Audrey felt a chill run up her spine, she turned quickly to face him. Her eyes were bright yellow, a gust of wind ran through the room. Sirius backed off, she smirked.

"Personal space is appreciated, _Sirius_." She turned once more, unpacking.

**She was quite sassy.**

"You never answered my question." Sirius dared, smirking and stepping forward once more. Audrey gave a cute little laugh.

"What's different about me?"

"You can't answer my question with a question!"

"Who says I can't?"

"I did!"

"You said it first."

"Said what first?"

"That I looked different. So, what's different about me?"

"But I asked first!"

"And you are?" She replied in her innocent voice.

**Déjà vu…and you have no idea how badly I wanted to grab her and kiss her.**

"I'm _Sirius Orion __Black_, _Audrey __Fiona __Dalio_." Sirius replied evenly, a playful glint in his eye.

"Oh! We're using full names now? Goody!" Audrey skipped for a moment, about to go for the door but Sirius blocked it, extending his arms to the doorframe. She got a better look at his arms, he had definitely gotten burlier.

Audrey was about to duck under one of his arms when Sirius blocked her.

"Going somewhere, Russia?" He smirked.

"Downstairs."

"Nope."

"Yes."

"Nah."

"_Sirius_."

"_Audrey_."

"Sirius, come on."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I don't feel like it."

"Well, you wanna know what I feel like?"

"What?"

"I feel like going downstairs, and eating. Now if you don't mind…"

Sirius blocked her again. Audrey stood back, crossing her arms, leaning on one hip. She gave him a look that said _'So we're going to play it that way, huh?'_.

Audrey sighed, sitting on the bed, staring at the floor.

**Was she admitting defeat? This was a first.**

Sirius made to move towards her and in less than a second she jumped up, tackled him to the ground and bolted from the room giggling. Sirius sat up, in shock.

**She was getting smart!**

"RUSSIA!" Sirius roared, laughing as he went running down the hallway and down the stairs. He had just seen her black hair whip around the corner. Sirius sped up.

Audrey weaved through James' dining room, jumped over the table, and made her way into the kitchen. Sirius caught up.

She dodged Elly and James, saying a quick excuse me. Henry was roaring with laughter seeing Sirius tailing her.

"Moony! I need your help."

"It's out of my hands, Sirius!" Remus called from the den, reading the Daily Prophet of course.

Audrey bolted into the Potter's yard, she made her way for the maze of bushes but Sirius had decided to take a leap of faith, literally, and dove for her waist. He took her down and rolled over so that she ended up ontop of him, his arms were locked tightly around her waist.

"Let me go, you git!" Audrey laughed.  
>"No!" Sirius shook with laughter.<p>

"JAMES! HELP! YOUR FRIEND IS AN IDIOT." Audrey yelled.

"JAMES! DON'T HELP HER! REMEMBER WHO YOUR BEST MATE IS!"

"JAMES! I'M GOING TO CRY, HE'S HURTING ME!"

"SHE'S LYING! SHE SAID LAST YEAR HER BONES ARE TEN TIMES STRONGER THAN OURS."

"HE'S BEING UNGENTLEMANLY JAMES!"

"NO I'M NOT!"

"JAMES HE'S TREATING ME LIKE THAT ONE RAVENCLAW HE DATED LAST YEAR!"

Before Sirius could yell that she was lying James came bolting out with a crowbar.

"Sirius!" He growled in warning, then realized that Audrey lied. He stood there for a moment with his mouth open in shock.

"Russia is getting good…she's playing with the big leagues now."

"Sirius, what are you doing?" said Remus, coming out of the house with the newspaper still in hand. "I heard all the commotion and Audrey screaming b-" He stopped himself, he had almost said _'bloody murder'_ but caught himself just in time. Instead he said.

"bloody loud about you being a pervert."

"Which he is." Audrey chimed in from the ground. Sirius freed one of his hands to tickle her. She slapped it away, and rolled off of him, getting to her feet.

"You see? Total pervert!" Audrey said half serious, half joking.

"You love it." Sirius muttered.

**I knew my little creature could hear me.**

Audrey shook her head, a small smile on her face. "I'm starving. Remus, care to join me for a biscuit?"

"I'd be delighted to." Remus replied, taking the prophet and walking in with her.


	47. Chapter 47

Thanks for the reviews, Weasleytwinslover87, LizziePixie-Aiko, Madmad237, and marycaity! :]

A little shorter than usual, I'm feeling a bit blue tonight. :/

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 47

The rest of the evening was filled with dinner and watching Remus and James play wizards chess. James was convinced he was going to beat Remus this year, but Remus as always was calm, cool and collected. Audrey had a feeling she knew what the outcome of the match would be.

"So wait…where's Peter?" She asked.

"In Paris, visiting his relatives for the summer. We won't see him until Platform 9 ¾." said Remus, studying the chess board for a moment.

"Ah, so the Marauders are down one I see…you do realize once Sarah, Lily, and Marly get here you'll be outnumbered?"

"We can take you." Sirius said, without falter. Audrey raised an eyebrow, her eyes going yellow.

"I believe that's a challenge, Sirius." said James.  
>"No, that's a <em>'I'm going to kick your ass into last year.' <em>look." Remus said, knowingly. Audrey nodded.

Sirius grabbed Audrey and squeezed her to his chest.

"I'm just glad our little Russia is back with us." He cooed, Audrey put her hands on his chest, trying to push him off.

"Let's not forget, my dear Sirius, that Audrey's father is just a fire call away." Remus said smartly, giving his friend a look that said_ 'Stop it, you're freaking her out.'_

"It's fine, Remus." Audrey strained. "I can handle this big lug of hormones over here on my own."

Sirius looked at her, raising an eyebrow. Audrey inhaled quickly, then blew a huge gust of wind out, knocking Sirius off of her and off of the couch.

"Checkmate!" Audrey grinned, stretching out and purposely taking up the entire sofa.

Sirius sat up on the floor, a goofy grin crossing his features. James snorted, exchanging a look with Remus. Sirius shot them a look, they'd get it later.

In one swift motion, Sirius lifted Audrey's legs, sat on the couch and placed her legs over him.

"Merlin's beard!" He exclaimed.

"What?" Audrey, Remus, and James said together.

"Your legs are jacked!" Sirius exclaimed, feeling her quad. Audrey groaned in frustration, he was ridiculous.

"That's what I said when I first saw her this summer too." Remus admitted, chuckling.

"Well, I've only been step dancing since I could walk." Audrey snorted, she slapped Sirius' hand. "Stop it!"

Sirius wore a wolfish grin.

"I asked her to kick me, out of curiosity. This is what happened." Remus said, lifting his shirt slightly. There was a significant bruise near his hip.

"It would have been ten times worse if you weren't a werewolf." Audrey said.

"But still." said James, his eyes wide. "Why have you been dancing for half the day this summer?"

Audrey shrugged, Sirius was still feeling her muscles in shock.

"Sirius, if you don't stop touching her legs she's going to kick you like she kicked me." Remus grinned, Audrey rolled off the couch, sitting cross legged on the floor.

"Thanks for the couch, Russia." Sirius grinned, stretching out.  
>"No problem, Black." Audrey replied, yawning and leaning her head up against James' shoulder.<p>

"Distraction!" Remus grinned, rubbing his hands. "Excellent."

"Russia is not a distraction! She's merely just borrowing my shoulder." James replied. Audrey nodded, sleepy.

_**I must have fallen asleep for a short amount of time, and perhaps I thought I was in the clear.**_

_**And then I saw **everything**.**_

Audrey woke with a start, panting, looking around the room. Her friends hadn't left the living room. James and Sirius were in makeshift beds on the floor, Remus on the couch opposite of her. The living room was illuminated by a small fraction of moonlight.

"Alright there?" said a voice. Audrey looked down to see Sirius propped up on his elbow.

Audrey took in a shaky breath and sat up, running a hand through her hair.

"I'm going to go and get some water." She said, about to stand up. Sirius jumped up.

"No, no. I'll get it, you look a bit faint." He murmured, quietly walking into the kitchen. He came back in seconds later and plopped down on the couch next to her.

"Thanks, Sirius." She said tiredly, taking the glass.

"Anytime, Audrey." He replied, looking out the window for a moment.

"Why are you all still down here?"

Sirius shrugged. "You fell asleep first, James moved you to the sofa. Moony fell asleep next, he seemed a bit out of it, I know it's been a little over a week since he transformed and how weak he gets sometimes. Then James and I just made makeshift beds on the floor and decided_ 'What the hell?'_"

"Impromptu sleepover." Audrey gave a small smile.

"Yeah." Sirius grinned.

After a few moments of silence, he spoke again.

"Is this why you haven't been sleeping well?" He asked, looking at her. His blue grey eyes were more apparent in the moonlight.

Audrey just nodded, a tear slipping. "I…every time I close my eyes, I just see it all over again. If I don't see it right away, it comes sometime when I'm asleep. That's why I've been avoiding it and keeping busy."

"But it's catching up to you." Sirius pointed out. "You fell asleep first."

"I didn't dance half the day like I usually do." Audrey shrugged. "At first, I thought it would exhaust me, but now it's a mechanism to keep me wired."

"You can't do that though, Audrey. You're going to hurt yourself somehow." Sirius looked worried.

Audrey shook her head. "I don't have much of a choice…either I sleep and face them all again or I stay awake and try to move on."

"So you're running yourself ragged to avoid your grief? That's hardly any better." Sirius replied.

_**I knew he was right, but it wasn't something that I could face anymore. I had been facing it everyday for six months. Once I had gotten home for the summer, it only became worse by invading my dreams.**_

"I know." Audrey replied quietly. "But it's the best solution I've got. And I'm not running myself ragged, I'm _expressing_ myself ragged."

"Touché. But still…you have to sleep. Can't you take a draught or something?"

"Too much effort." She said. "And once you get used to those things they never help. They never help me much…remember they had to _tranquilize_ me last time."

Sirius winced, he did remember. After they had visited Audrey and she told them all that, once they left, Remus was spitting with rage. He ranted about how inhumane people were and how wrong that was.

Sirius hugged her to his chest, it was one of those rare times she didn't object.

"I'm sorry this is still haunting you." Sirius murmured.

"Thanks…." She replied, hugging him back.

_**I don't know how long we stayed like that, but I felt myself drift off into sleep once more.**_

_**No dreams at all…**_


	48. Chapter 48

This week has been absolutely crazy, a lot of my friends leave for University this week so it's been chaotic trying to hang out and say good bye. And quite sad. :[

Thanks for the reviews, marycaity, Masterofbugs123, Weasleytwinslover87, Madmad237, LizziePixie-Aiko, and Sarah Liz B! They always brighten my day! :]

I meant to publish this earlier, but like I said, busy day, chaotic. Blah! :D

A review is niiiiiice. ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 48

_The next morning…_

James Potter woke first, his glasses askew and his hair messier than usual, he looked to his right and noticed Sirius wasn't there. His eyes traveled over to the sofa to the far right where Remus lay, sleeping still. Then his eyes moved to the sofa where Audrey was the night before. His face broke into a huge grin noticing that just behind Audrey's head was Sirius'.

James quickly scrambled up from his makeshift bed and scurried over to Remus, shaking him lightly. Remus had always been a fairly light sleeper.

"What is it, James?" He replied groggily. "It's six in the morn-"

"Moony." James said seriously, and then pointed over to the other couch. "I think they're finally…"

Remus sat up in shock, looking from Sirius to Audrey, then to James. He smirked.

"It's about bloody time she slept."

James elbowed Remus.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know what you meant, James. But no, they aren't together."

"How do you know?"

"Because if they were together, Sirius would have woken the whole house to inform us." Remus replied in a matter of fact tone.

James realized he had a point and then said. "But how do you think…?"

"I think he merely got Audrey when she was half asleep, or perhaps his nice side was showing. The side most girls he dates never sees because of his incredible ego. The difference with her is that he's been whipped since he first saw her. You and I can't deny that." Remus reasoned, studying the two.

**Ah, Moony. Always the smart one, he always had me figured out every time.**

James nodded, in awe of Remus' logic.

"I'm going back to bed." Remus said, pulling up one of his sheets and rolling over on his side. "It's still early."

About a half hour later, Audrey stirred, and so did Sirius.

"Oh…hi." She said groggily.

"G'mornin' sunshine." He replied smoothly, Audrey lightly nudged him. He breathed a laugh.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, tell me." She whined, he laughed once more. She could feel his breath moving down her neck.

"Nah."

"Jerk."

He laughed again, tightening his grip around her slightly.

"_Oh_." Audrey said, finally understanding.

"Mhm."

"So…?"

"So what, Russia?" He whispered in her ear.

"So, you're pretty comfortable, Sirius. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make some breakfast for the gang…I'm feeling pancakes."

With that, she wiggled out of his arms and loped off of the couch and went into the kitchen. Sirius noticed Remus' eyes were still closed but he was shaking with silent laughter. James sat up, grinning widely. Sirius threw a pillow at him, getting up and going to the kitchen where Audrey was quickly at work cooking.

**She managed to use her powers to make breakfast, though I had seen her do it before at James' house it never got old. She'd use the wind to float the ingredients around the kitchen. We always used to joke that she probably put dirt in our food.**

Sirius was feeling rather bold, especially after the previous night. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she was cooking.

"Yes?" She asked..

"Nothing."

"Uh huh." Audrey replied skeptical, still working and not looking at him.

James and Remus poked their heads into the kitchen, where neither Sirius or Audrey could see.

"Five galleons she blows him off….literally." said Remus.

"You're on. I bet she'll let him linger. Proving my theory." James replied with a raised brow.

There was a small crash in the kitchen and Sirius was indeed blown away from Audrey, Remus grinned broadly. James cursed. They decided they'd make their prescence known and walk into the kitchen.

"Good morning, friends!" James said casually, sitting down at the kitchen table. Sirius shot him a look, and then he grinned.

"I see Audrey's cooking again." Remus laughed.

"Yeah, what can I say? I was starving." Audrey replied, floating a dish of pancakes over to the table.

"Miss I-can-cut-corners-with-magic-because-I'm-special!" James mocked. Audrey threw some flour at him.

"Rude." Audrey sassed, smirking. "I make you breakfast and this is how you treat me?"

"He just doesn't appreciate the _fine _art of pancakes." Sirius snorted.

"They are a fine art when you cook them like I do." Audrey replied in mock arrogance, sitting next to Remus.

A few moments later, Mrs. Potter walked into the kitchen.

"James, why do you have flour on your face?"

He pointed at Audrey.

"Oh…" Mrs. Potter replied, then smiled. "Good aim, Audrey."

James sat there in shock. Audrey grinned, shaking with silent laughter.

"_Mum_!"

"You know she's always wanted a daughter, son." said Henry, walking in next.

"Mornin' Henry." Sirius and Remus said together.

"Boys, Audrey, sleep well?"

Everyone nodded.

"I think Audrey slept quite well." said Sirius smoothly, his eyes glinting. She threw a pancake at him. He grinned.

The days went by in a blur and before they knew it, it was time for the other's to arrive…Marlene was first.

Audrey was upstairs practicing her cello when she heard a crack and a bang, the boys were outside playing Quidditch. She ran downstairs in seconds and saw the mass of blonde hair she knew well.

The boys ran in as well, and for an awkward moment of silence it was just Audrey and Marlene staring at each other.

"YOU!"

"_YOU_!"

They ran at each other, and Audrey jumped into her best friend's arms.

"I swear to Merlin, they have a better relationship than I do." Remus shook his head laughing.

"It's okay, Moony. I still love you." Sirius said consolingly, putting an arm around Remus. He laughed.

"Can you ladies stop chattering away? You've got plenty of bloody time to catch up, now let the rest of us greet Marly, eh?" said James, Marlene greeted him by punching him in the arm.

"Ow! Remus! She's so abusive!" James whined. Remus grinned, hugging Marlene and kissing her forehead.

"That's why I like her, James. She helps me keep you in line."

"Marly's legs are jacked too!" Sirius yelled, pointing at Marlene. "What the hell?"

Before Marlene or Audrey could make a response, a familiar light voice from the hallway chimed in.

"The better to kick you with, my dear."

"PUFFER!" The boys yelled.

"SARAH!" Marlene and Audrey yelled.

"Now that's a greeting!" Sarah grinned, putting her bags down and being bombarded with hugs.

"So…" Marlene hip checked Sarah.

"How's _Henri_?" Audrey grinned.

"He's lovely, thanks for asking." Sarah rocked back and forth on her hips. She wasn't telling them the whole thing, and they knew.

"Your legs…I just can't even…" Sirius said, hiding behind Remus from the girls.

"Then stop looking and being a bloody pervert." Audrey shot at him, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Never!" Sirius said defiantly.

"At least he admits it." Sarah shrugged.

"That's true." said Marlene.

"James can we go swimming?" Sarah asked excitedly.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Sarah?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah, do you remember last time?" Marlene shivered, the boys all grinned.

"You lot deserved it." said James.

"Yeah, but we didn't take your swim trunks off of you." Audrey shot back.

"Do you want to?" Sirius asked playfully. Audrey's eyes went red, and she bared pointy teeth.

_**I didn't want to answer that question, but I truly enjoyed making Sirius squirm in multiple ways.**_

**She totally wanted to.**

Audrey turned back to her normal self, grinning at Marlene and Sarah.

"I'll help them to their rooms." Audrey volunteered.

"I'll come too." said Remus, smirking at Marlene.

James and Sirius rolled their eyes.

After getting helping her get situated, Audrey and Sarah sat in Sarah's room waiting for Marlene. Of course, they knew she might be a while seeing as she was with Remus and they hadn't seen each other all summer.

"At this point we might as well wait for Lily." Sarah groaned, hitting her head against the bed post.

"Oh I'm glad you're waiting then." Lily Evan's fiery hair appeared in the doorway, followed by her face.

"Lils! You actually got here before Marly!" Audrey exclaimed.

"I know! Quite the shock!"

"Keep you shorts on, I'm done!" called Marlene running down the hallway into Sarah's room and closing the door behind her.

"Your hair's messed up." Sarah pointed out, the others giggled.

"Oh shut it." Marlene blushed. "Now, catching up time!"

"Before we do that…the boys are out?" Lily asked suspiciously. They all knew them quite well, they were skilled eavesdroppers.

"Remus told me that they're going to be going out to play some Quidditch." said Marlene.

Audrey opened the curtains, noticing that the three boys in fact were playing Quidditch. Henry was playing with them, she shook her head smiling.

"We're clear." Audrey said, closing the curtains and sitting on the floor with her friends. They went around, telling everything.

"James wrote me every bloody day." Lily groaned.

"Did you respond?" asked Marlene.

Lily snorted. "Three or four times, they just got so out of hand."

"I know the feeling, James and Sirius decided to write me together." Audrey rolled her eyes. "I responded occasionally but it was just crazy."

The girls nodded.

"Also there's something else I need to tell you guys…" Audrey wrung her hands, nervous. She went into the whole tale about the summer, dancing, not sleeping, Remus' advice, and then of course the big thing that had happened the night she arrived at the Potter's.

Marlene spit out her water. "WAIT…WAIT,WAIT,WAIT. YOU _SLEPT _TOGETHER?"

"Not like _that_." Audrey hissed.

"She means _next _to each other." Sarah clarified.

_**It had happened a few times in the last few days, in different places. Sirius always seemed to like to check up on me to make sure I wasn't having nightmares. Yet I always was...**_

**Except when I was there.**

"But still." Marlene said, an eyebrow raised. "Did he put anything in your drink…or your food?"

Audrey shook her head.

"Oh Marly, we all knew he was batty for her anyway. He was practically enraged most of last year with the Karl thing." said Lily, waving Marlene off.

"I miss Karl. I miss you and Karl together." said Sarah thoughtfully.

_**I missed Karl too, but I had said to myself every day that it was for the best. I didn't want Karl to be with someone like me, it was too dangerous in Russia. Besides, who would want to be with someone who was depressed and condemned to a life of being hunted? No one.**_

**As I have said before, **_**I**_** am no one.**

"I miss him too, he wasn't a git, he was attractive, and he actually had manners. Unlike _someone _we know." said Marlene, nudging her head out the window in the direction of the boys whoops and yells.

"He's been so odd since I've gotten here." Audrey replied. "I mean, he's been odd since the train too but-"

"That was definitely because you and Karl broke it off." said Marlene.

"True." said Lily.

"I mean he's been nicer, but he's heavy on with the flirting right now."

"Hasn't he always been?" snorted Marlene.

"No, no. he wasn't as much when he was dating a girl. But he's not, he told me he wasn't when he wrote me." said Sarah

"Did he say anything about Audrey?" asked Lily.

"Not much, he said once he wondered if you were alright and that he was worried about you." She replied

…_**As if my feelings weren't already a perpetual train wreck.**_

Audrey groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"Well?" asked Marlene.

"Well what?"

"You _know_." Lily said evenly.

"Know what?"

"What they're trying to say is, do you fancy that moron?" Sarah asked.

"I have no bloody idea." Audrey replied.


	49. Chapter 49

Still crazy…Maybe by Friday I'll return to a little normal writing schedule. I'll be writing in my free time. I still have another two weeks before I leave and switch computers. I'm hoping to get out a lot more chapters before then because I don't know what my college schedule will be like…or my updates.

Thanks for the reviews, Madmad237 (yes, I do…summer does that to me) , Sarah Liz B, LizziePixie-Aiko, weasleytwinslover87, marycaity, and kankananime123 (HI)! :D

A nice and long chapter, and a little backing story about one of my favorite characters…though for some of you, it's stuff you already know. ;]

Review if you're transferring to Pigfarts next year…review anyway, even if you don't get that reference. :P

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 49

_September_.

There was a flurry of chatter and the Potter house was in chaos.

"We're going to be late." said Sarah.

"No, we're not!" replied James

"Yes, we are you sod!" hissed Marlene

"Oh shut it, Marlene!"

"Hey! Don't tell my girlfriend to shut it." chimed in Remus

"Sorry Moony!" said James, Marlene stuck her tongue out at him.

"Marlene! Have you seen my step shoes?" Audrey called down the hallway.

"I put them in my trunk, you left them in my room yesterday…Do you have my spandex shorts?" She called back.

"Yup! In my trunk. I'll give them to you when we unpack at school."

"Excellent."

James and Sirius exchanged a look and snorted.

"What weirdos." said Sirius. "...Hey, do you have my black Quidditch shirt and my stink pellets?"

"Packed it. And you have my pants and dungbombs?" asked James.

"Yup." Sirius grinned, he was about to say something when he heard a snort come from the opposite end of the hallway.

"What?" Sirius asked, looking at Audrey and Marlene who were carrying Marlene's trunk down the stairs.

"And you think _we're _the weirdos?" Audrey raised an eyebrow.

"_Russia_!" Sirius scolded. "Just because you're special doesn't mean you can eavesdrop!"

"I can't help it if my hearing is really sensitive, Sirius." Audrey replied, a small smirk playing on her face.

**She always knew how to toy with my heart, whether she meant to or not.**

After eating a quick breakfast, they disapparated with Mr. and Mrs. Potter to a small wooded area near Kings Cross station. There, Remus met his parents, Lily met her parents, Sarah met hers, and Marlene met hers.

"Your dad's not coming?" Came a whisper in Audrey's ear. Audrey shook her head.

"He's got a job doing some building for a vampire colony in Italy this week, he feels awful. I went home last night via floo to say goodbye." said Audrey, giving small smile. "I'll see them over the holidays."

_**It wasn't actually that my father was not with me at the station which made me sad, it was my grandfather. He had come every year I had school to see me off with my father, part of the reason I believe that my father took that job this year was due to that as well. It would be too painful for the both of us.**_

"If it helps any bit, my parents only come to see my brother off." Sirius said quietly, squeezing Audrey's arm for a moment.

"That's awful. I'm so sorry." She frowned, looking at him. He gave a small grin and replied.

"It's fine, Henry and Elly are like my parents anyway."

"Well, _I'd _hope so. You practically live with us." chimed in Henry from behind them, Audrey laughed.

After everyone said their good byes and got situated on the train, Lily and Audrey broke off from the boys, as per tradition, and went to find Severus. They ignored whines from Sirius and James that said _"Do you have to go?" _and "_Why?"_

As usual, Severus always found and reserved an empty compartment for the three of them. They always spent the first half of the train ride together. Audrey ran into the compartment first, nearly barreling Severus over with a hug.

"I missed you." She grinned.

"Oh I know." Severus smirked. "I see Lily all summer and I don't see you. What a crime."

Lily snorted. "Sev, did she tell you what _she's_ been doing all summer?"

"He knows everything, Lily." Audrey replied softly, judging by the deep purple color that her eyes went she didn't seem to want to talk about it anymore.

"You look like you've been sleeping." Severus observed, staring at her with his head slightly cocked. "Which is surprising…seeing as where you were."

"The door has a silencing charm, quite peaceful." Audrey replied, she didn't dare bring up the thing with Sirius. Severus was her best friend, and Sirius was one of his mortal enemies.

Lily seemed to give Audrey a look that told it all. She knew Audrey wasn't going to mention the Sirius thing, especially now that Audrey had mixed feelings. She still loved Karl, but Sirius was using a battering ram for the last five years to try and charge into Audrey's heart. And the walls were breaking, Lily could see it.

They spent the train ride laughing and catching up as they always did. Few people around Hogwarts thought that Severus Snape was capable of laughing, or smiling, but the few who did were sitting with him in that very compartment.

Their laughter was stopped by the door opening, in walked a familiar face, black hair, and familiar blue grey eyes. The only difference was the Slytherin robes.

"I wondered who was in this compartment." Regulus mused, looking at the three of them. "I'm alone next door, can I join?"

Severus scooted over for his house mate. Lily and Audrey exchanged a glance.

_**I had very few encounters with Regulus Black, he was harmless, yet he always chilled me to the bone. Perhaps it was due to his uncanny resemblance to his older brother.**_

_**That day, he was studying me quite a bit…and I wasn't comfortable at all.**_

After a few moments of chatter, Lily spoke Audrey's thoughts exactly.

"Regulus, might I ask why you're staring at Audrey?"

"You look different, Dalio." Regulus drawled, a smirk playing on his lips.

_**I thought I was going to be sick.**_

Lily checked her watch. "We're late, we've got to head back to the other compartment. Or Marly will chop our heads off."

Severus laughed at this. "Typical Marlene. Go, I'll see you two in the library."

"Bye Sev!" Audrey called, as soon as Lily closed their compartment door the two sprinted down the hallway.

"That was so creepy." Lily shivered. "I like Sirius a lot better than him, and _that's _saying something."

"I…I don't even know." Audrey shook her head, grateful as they made their way back into the Gryffindor compartment.

"Well it's about time!" said James.

"We thought Snivellus killed you." said Peter. Lily shot Peter a dark look, which he reacted with. "Relax, it's a joke."

"Not really." mumbled Sirius.

"Audrey, are you alright?" asked Remus.

"Yes, I'm fine." Audrey replied quietly, sitting next to Marlene, who said in unison with Remus.

"You're lying."

"I am not." Audrey shot back, Marlene gave her a skeptical look. After a few seconds, Audrey spoke again, cracking.

"Fine. Marly, Sarah, Lily…trip to the loo?"

The boys all groaned in frustration.

"What is it with you girls going in pairs?" Sirius asked.

"Honestly! It's annoying. Girls can't do _anything _by themselves. I mean...why?" James shook his head.

"Because." said Audrey.  
>"You could fall in." Sarah said next.<br>"Or get jumped." Lily chimed in.  
>"Or get <em>raped<em>." said Marlene, shooting Sirius a look.

Sirius was stunned. "I have _never _raped anyone, _Marly_. And I've never been in the girl's loo-"

The other three boys shot him a look.

"I've been in _Myrtle's _but that doesn't count, it's out of order!" Sirius protested, the boys laughed. They'd all been in Myrtle's.

The girls laughed and exited, heading for the lavatories. The train's bathrooms were small but affective for a quick chat.

_**The rest of the month flew by as quick as the leaves shed from the trees, a year prior I was not used to seeing so many faces in Hogwarts. Familiar and unfamiliar. This year, it was back to the way it was before…yet it felt more empty and barren then ever before.**_

It was an cold night and Audrey was making her way down the hallway into the West Wing, Hisoka had sent her an owl fifteen minutes earlier telling her to come as soon as possible. She wasn't sure what was going on, but her stomach was knotting up.

She knocked on the familiar door, and it opened right away. But Hisoka hadn't opened it, a man with brown hair and blue eyes did. He wore a suit vest, slacks and a robe.

"Um…Hello." Audrey said, not sure what to make of the stranger. He couldn't have been human, his clothing was wizard wear in the 1800s.

"You must be Audrey." He said, letting her in. "My name is Edgar, I'm a friend of Hisoka's."

"I figured." Audrey replied, looking around the room. It had changed again. "I don't think Hisoka would let a man into her quarters unless he was a good friend."

He laughed. "I suppose you're right. We've been friends for many, many, many, years."

"Were you friends before or _after _the change?" Audrey asked, still looking around.

"After. She's older than I am…technically." Edgar winked, Audrey grinned.

"So where is she?"

"She's in the bath, you know how she is, she takes an _eternity _to bathe and get ready." Edgar chirped.

"I can't argue with that." Audrey replied shaking her head. "Might I ask how you know each other?"

Edgar smiled, flourished his wand and a large object came moving towards him from across the room. It was a black cello case.

"Ah." Audrey grinned. Edgar nodded.

Finally, Hisoka had come out of the bath. She wore a plain blue cotton robe and was drying her long, long, hair with her wand.

"Ah, Ayla-san. I see you've met Edgar." Hisoka beamed.

"Oh…well, I called her Audrey. Whoops." He grinned, Hisoka giggled.

"Edgar, that's hardly a way to get someone ready for their debut." Hisoka replied. "How can she react to being called Ayla by patrons if she isn't used to responding to it?"

"I suppose that's true." Edgar replied, rocking on the balls of his feet.

"If you don't mind me asking." Audrey bowed to her mentor quickly. "Why have you called me so late in the evening?"

Hisoka smiled. "I have the date for your debut."

"Oh?" Audrey replied innocently, raising an eyebrow.

"Oooh, she's good." Edgar observed, looking from mentor to protégée.

"I know, Edgar." Hisoka beamed. "I visited an old friend in Osaka last night."

Audrey raised an eyebrow at her mentor. "That's where you were? I thought you were with the Headmaster."

Hisoka shook her head. "I visited my old fortune teller, she's about two hundred fifty now…anyway, I went to enquire about favorable days for your first performance."

"And?" Audrey asked, waiting.

"The seventh day of November." Hisoka beamed.

_**I felt my heart freeze up in my chest.**_

"You can't just say November 7th, like everyone else, can you?" Edgar mused, Hisoka smiled.

_**I hardly thought it would be ideal to make a debut on my late grandmother's birthday. I had too many conflicting emotions about to erupt inside of me at the moment Hisoka spoke of the date.**_

_**She may have jumped in front of me, but it was my fault that she was dead.**_

Audrey excused herself from her mentor and Edgar, making up a quick excuse that she had to finish her Transfiguration homework. She ran down the hallway, straight towards an open window and jumped from it, summoning a rock in midair.

She was allowed to fly around the Hogwarts grounds, as long as it was the evening. It was only the end of September and it was already becoming cold.

"Nice night, isn't it?" said a voice that made Audrey nearly fall off of the rock in surprise.

Back in the castle, in Hisoka's quarters, Edgar was pacing while Hisoka kneeled on the floor, sipping a cup of tea.

"Edgar-san, your tea is getting cold."

"I know, dear. I'll warm it up when I'm ready." Edgar waved her off. "She's rather advanced, far more so than I thought. However, it felt to me that she didn't seem thrilled about her debut. She did well to conceal it, but I saw it in the eyes."

Hisoka nodded. "She's half banshee, and a quarter veela. I knew she wouldn't need much training, little things here and there but nothing more. I'm surprised I didn't notice...but Masuyo did foresee that she would be upset. A birthday of a dead relative."

"Well, that would put anyone in a bad mood." He replied, deciding to change the subject. "And why did you call me now?"

"My time is running thin…if you know what I mean." Hisoka winked at her fellow vampire. "I'm supposed to be elderly and _keel_ over any day, remember?"

"Yes, my dear. I'm aware, but when exactly were you planning on _'dying'_?" Edgar made quotations with her hands.

"I'd say about a year from now, and then I will hand Audrey over to you. She should be well established by then with some clients."

"Where will you go when you _die_?"

"I plan on moving back to Osaka for a few years, back to my first apartment. My danna has been writing me non-stop about coming back…"

"Atsuo?" Edgar interrupted. Hisoka nodded and continued.

"Yes, he says he misses me terribly, though I keep telling him I must establish my protégée first before I take a break."

"I wonder how Albus will feel about you leaving." Edgar mumbled, Hisoka shot him a look.

"I cannot help it, Edgar. You know that." She was annoyed and had a slight sense of fear in her voice.

Edgar nodded.

Back outside, Audrey regained her balance on the rock and glared at Sirius.

"Really?"

"I'm sorry!" Sirius laughed, holding his hands up in surrender and balancing on his broomstick. "I thought you heard me…you and your superpowers and whatnot."

"I did…" Audrey replied distractedly. "I'm just a bit preoccupied at the moment."

"What about?" asked Sirius, dismounting his broom and climbing onto the rock with her. Audrey was surprised.

_**It was a rather bold move.**_

"It's nothing…don't worry about it, Sirius." Audrey replied, staring off into the distance.

"Russia, I'm already on your rock." Sirius replied pointedly. Audrey's eyes went yellow and she cocked her head slightly.

"Would you like to be shoved off?"

"No, Russia." Sirius chuckled. Audrey's eyes returned to normal. She sighed and sat down, her feet hanging off the edge. Sirius decided to join her. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again.

"Hisoka's set a date for my debut…"

"That's wonderful." Sirius said. "I don't understand why-"

"Please, Sirius. Let me finish."

Sirius clamped his mouth shut.

"I am more than thrilled that I'm going to be making my debut, but Hisoka summoned me to her quarters an hour ago after being gone for a day." Audrey flicked her fingers for a moment, sending tiny pebbles flying off the rock. "She said she went to see her fortune teller back home-"

Sirius snorted, he hated divination, and fortune tellers. Audrey raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, sorry…continue."

"and basically, my debut is November 7th." Audrey finished, staring at the ground far below.

Sirius cocked his head. "Well…seven is a lucky number."

Audrey nodded. "It is…"

"Why are you not so happy about it then?"

"It's my grandmother's birthday." Audrey said, letting a tear fall. She turned her head away from him for a moment and wiped it away quickly.

**Nothing escapes me**.

Sirius wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into him. "I'm sorry, Audrey." He murmured into her hair.

"Thanks, Sirius…" Audrey gave him a squeeze back.

"She'd be so proud." Sirius said consolingly. He didn't know Audrey's grandmother at all, but he figured it'd be a good thing to say. What else do you say to someone after all of that?

"I hope so, Sirius…I really do." Audrey replied, staring out at the lake.


	50. Chapter 50

The chaos is finally over…sort of, I'm still packing for college now and seeing off the last few friends that are still here. I leave in ten days, and I figured I'd have a day to myself to write today. I'm working on 51 right now, I'm hoping I'll get it out today. Sirius isn't in this one much, don't worry, he'll be back. :]

Holy fifty chapters, Batman! :O

Thanks for the reviews, marycaity, Madmad237, weasleytwinslover87, JulesDragonlady, and LizziePixie-Aiko.

La la la la la…review? ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 50

October came and went, and before she knew it, Audrey was staring down her calendar.

_**November 7th**__**…**_

_**It was a quiet day for me. It was a Saturday, there was a Hogsmeade visit but Hisoka advised me to sleep as much as possible so I did. It was bitterly cold that day and the drafts through the castle made me feel numb. It seemed unusual for me…to be chilled to the bone, but then again, was it really?**_

Early in the morning, and the gang was sitting together in the Great Hall.

"Where's Audrey?" Sirius asked, looking around. The girls giggled.

"What are you lot laughing at?" James asked.

"Nothing." smirked Marlene.

"Well, where is she?" Sirius demanded, the girls giggled again. Sirius groaned in frustration.

"She's still asleep." Lily finally answered. "She said she's not going into Hogsmeade today."

"Well why not?" Sirius demanded, genuinely upset.

Lily and Marlene exchanged a smirk and Marlene spoke next.

"Her debut is tonight, and it's going to be a pretty late evening for her, so her mentor advised her to sleep as much as possible."

"Oh…" Sirius replied, slightly disappointed.

"What's wrong, Sirius?" Lily dared. Sirius however was completely casual when he spoke back.

"Oh nothing, Russia's going to miss out on our Honeydukes raid." He chewed on some bread.

"Uh huh…" Marlene replied skeptically.

_**Hisoka had taken my measurements over a month prior to the debut, with the O.W.L's coming that year, I didn't have much time to shop. I trusted her with finding me something, everything was going to be fine.**_

Around noon, Audrey woke and made her way to the West Wing to meet Hisoka, who wasn't quite awake herself. Audrey had to laugh at her mentor's unusually messy hair.

"You could have slept for a few more hours you know." Hisoka said conversationally, tapping her wand to her hair and fixing it. "We don't leave until seven."

Audrey shrugged. "I couldn't sleep any longer."

"Understandable." Hisoka replied. "I remember how nervous I was before my first debut…"

Audrey cocked her head.

"My first debut as a geisha, I mean." Hisoka clarified. Audrey nodded.

"And I suppose you would like to see your dress?"

"That'd be nice." She replied, Hisoka laughed moving towards her closet and pulling out a long black bag and a hanger. She pulled off the bag revealing a long strapless midnight blue dress covered in sequins.

"It's lovely. Thank you." Audrey said, giving Hisoka a bow.

"I figured it would be perfect for the event tonight." Hisoka beamed, pulling the protective bag over it once more. "Bring this back to your dormitory, make sure it's safe and hung up. Meet me here at a quarter to."

Hisoka gently shoved her out the door and shut it once again.

"Event?" Audrey said, to no one in particular. She shook her head at her mentor's vagueness and headed back to the vacant Gryffindor dormitories.

She tried to go back to sleep but couldn't, her nerves were keeping her awake. She went to the dance studio to practice for a few hours, by the time she was done it was a quarter to five. She had an hour left to bathe and get ready.

As soon as she entered the common room…

"RUSSIA!" The boys yelled.

"Hey guys." Audrey panted, she had sprinted across the school in ten seconds. She headed straight for the stairs to the girls dormitory.

An arm shot out, hitting her in the stomach and taking her down onto the couch.

"Why the rush, Russia?" asked James Potter, right above her. Sirius was next to him.  
>"Nice one, James." Sirius grinned.<p>

"I need to shower and get ready." Audrey groaned, struggling against her two friends.

"_Russia_, we haven't seen you all day. Can't you spare a few minutes?" Sirius whined.

"I can, if you let me shower and get ready _first_. I'll be quick, I promise."

"Alright!" The two said together, dropping her onto the floor.

"Oh, you're _classy_." Audrey snorted, getting up and walking upstairs.

**As promised, she took about ten minutes to get ready. I was quite impressed, a girl getting ready in ten minutes. Ten! ****Sweet Merlin, she cleaned up nice.**

When Audrey returned to the common room, she noticed Marlene and Lily were there with the boys. Marlene fox whistled.

Sirius and James shot her an odd look.

"What? She's my best friend, and hell, we're _way_ better looking than you two." Marlene replied casually.

"Oh really?" James replied.

"Really." said Audrey, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Are you doing anything with your hair?" Lily asked, cocking her head.

"Hisoka's going to do it…I'm a bit scared." Audrey bit her lip, Lily laughed.

After a few minutes, Audrey bid her friends a good bye and set of running barefoot through the halls to the West Wing with her heels in hand.

"Sirius, stop drooling." Marlene rolled her eyes, hitting him with a pillow.

_**Hisoka had actually done my hair by hand, which was something I found peculiar but I did not question. Between a different hairstyle and different make up, I didn't completely recognize my reflection…and I was fine with that. **_

_**After all, I was not Audrey when I performed.**_

_**The event was in London for an international business dinner for Muggles involved in the stock market, I wasn't sure what that was but Hisoka said that would work to a good advantage.**_

"Remember the playing dumb trick, Ayla?" Hisoka was in character herself, she had transfigured herself into a very elderly woman, she walked hunched over with a cane. Audrey had been trying not to laugh a good portion of the night.

Audrey nodded.

_**I was not the only entertainer at the event, there were several mentors and performers alike. Almost all of them were witches and wizards, which eased my nerves slightly. I wasn't frightened of muggles, they were like butterflies, entirely harmless. What I was frightened of was exposing myself, it's easier for a witch or wizard to hide their magic, but it takes a lot of control for me. I've always been controlled, but there have been times where I've slipped.**_

In the back room, where the musicians kept their things, Audrey was unpacking her cello.

"Are you the girl debuting tonight?" said a voice. Audrey turned to see a blonde girl a little older than she was unpacking her violin.

"Yes, I'm Ayla." Audrey smiled, giving her a small wave.

She smiled. "I'm Iris. I debuted here last year, there's nothing to it. It's really fun, you'll enjoy it."

"I'm glad." Audrey replied. "Are you're…?" Audrey didn't say anything incase they were heard, but she pulled her wand slightly from her case. Iris nodded, taking hers out as well.

"I'm in my last year at Beauxbatons, how about you?" She asked.

"Fifth year, Hogwarts." Audrey smiled.

Iris tilted her head for a second. "I don't think I saw you last year…but then again, I bet neither of us are really recognizable." She gestured to them both. Audrey laughed.

"I didn't even recognize myself in the mirror earlier." She replied.

"That's normal." Iris waved a hand. "It goes away eventually."

Audrey nodded.

_**I played a few solo songs, and then a few songs accompanied by Hisoka on piano. Like Iris had told me in the back room, there was really nothing to it. When you are a musician, playing gradually becomes an activity of enjoyment when you are older. It was easy to be happy when I played, it was an escape from the world. I could travel through time between the notes.**_

_**The next part of my evening was brief socializing with the guests, some were easier than others. I sat with an elderly man from Wales for a while, he was explaining stocks to me. The trick that Hisoka had taught me was not only to be open about being unaware of the subject, but to act incredibly curious and interested.**_

The end of the evening came quickly and Audrey apparate with Hisoka into Hogsmeade. They set off walking towards the castle, as soon as they arrived into the village, Hisoka waved her wand and she was back to her normal self.

"I always hate adding extra skin to myself." She cringed. "It's quite heavy."

"I can imagine." Audrey replied, after a few seconds she asked. "Do you think it went well?"

_**I had noticed she had this look in her eyes, a look of calculating.**_

"I think it went well, yes." Hisoka replied, still putting something together. Audrey felt a weird foreboding sense.

_**The following Saturday, I had my next engagement. It was a small party and quite close to the school, they had requested a strings player and certain repertoire. Bach, Colombi, Galli…all **__pure __**blooded composers. Until we arrived at the Manor, I did not realize or know who I was playing for that afternoon. I should have realized that it was going to be a very different gig, Hisoka had transfigured herself to the point of the unrecognizable. The host and owner of the Manor was an elderly man, in his short gray hair was a black streak. He was blind in one eye and walked with a cane.**_

_**His name was Zacharias Flint.**_

_**The party was a small gathering of pure blooded elitists, talking, laughing. It made me feel ill. I had heard of these sorts of humans before, from my father and mother, from my grandparents, from my friends…**_

_**Hisoka accompanied me where needed, but she mostly stayed in the shadows. At this party, these humans assumed that she was my manager, though at any other engagement she'd be considered my mentor.**_

_**When we arrived and I was unpacking my cello I remember Hisoka whispering to me, barely audible.**_

_"Do not look any of them straight in the face. Keep your head bowed."_

_**I was hired to play for three hours, and only play thankfully. Something that is possible for me, but like anyone else it is very tiring. Through the notes, I could hear the chatter and banter of the party guests.**_

"_Walburga, where is Orion?" A woman asked.  
><em>"_Oh, he'll be coming shortly, Druella." drawled Walburga._

_**Walburga and Orion…I knew those names…I had heard those names before, in a very mocking and loathing context.**_

_**They were Sirius' parents.**_

_**As instructed, I did not look at any of the guests. I had the advantage, for when I was playing I could close my eyes and just see the music. I could move with the music, and I was barely noticed. I was background noise, ambiance for their little gathering and nothing more.**_

_**When I opened my eyes a few times here and there, I saw Zacharias Flint staring at me. He smiled a few times…my stomach dropped and a chill ran up my spine. It had occurred to me that not only was I a creature in a house full of elitist purebloods but that I was being stared at by Marcus Flint's grandfather. Marcus was a seventh year now, and he hadn't bothered me the previous year because I was almost always with Karl. Severus assumed that Karl was intimidating to Marcus, just as he was intimidating to Sirius.**_

**Let me clarify something, I was **_**not **_**intimidated by Karl Gregorovitch.**

Audrey was so grateful when her time was up, she gave a quick bow and went to the back room to pack up her cello. Hisoka followed, Audrey gave her a look that said 'We need to talk about this.'

"Later, Ayla-san, I promise." Hisoka nodded.

We were shown out by Zacharias, after he paid me he spoke in a low drawl.

"Beautiful girl, beautiful playing."

Audrey thanked him quietly, grabbed onto Hisoka's arm and they disapparated.

Once they arrived safely back at the castle, in Hisoka's guest quarters, Audrey let out a long exhale and fell onto the couch.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me?" Audrey hissed, a panicked look came across her face. "Why didn't you tell me that I would be playing for _those_ sort of humans?"

"Ayla-san, we cannot always choose who we entertain. Edgar was supposed to be at the party but had some rather unfortunate business to attend to regarding a friend, none of the other cellists in the rotation could have taken the job, they're muggles." Hisoka replied calmly.

"That old man gives me the chills." Audrey shivered, taking a glass of water Hisoka offered her. "Thanks."

Hisoka nodded.

_**Once again, she was thinking of something…planning something…**_


	51. Chapter 51

Thanks for the reviews, marycaity, LizziePixie-Aiko, thewrittenword87, weasleytwinslover87, and JulesDragonlady! :]

Long chapter is looooooong.

If you read my first story, you'll recognize a few things in this chapter. ;] If you didn't, then no worries.

You know what's really good? Chips and salsa. You know what's also really good? Reviewing! (Please? :D)

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 51

Audrey returned to the common room that afternoon to find just Remus and Lily studying. Marlene went off to practice in the dance studio with Sarah, James and Sirius had Quidditch practice, and Peter tagged along.

"Someone looks appalled." Remus mused, as Audrey made her way into the common room.

"I like the dress." Lily said, looking up from her Charms textbook.

"Thanks, Lils." Audrey replied, undoing the bun Hisoka had styled her hair into.

"So how was it?" Lily asked.

"I don't even know where to begin." Audrey replied, sitting next to her friends and telling them about the party.

"_Wait_…Sirius' parents were at this party?" Remus asked, eyes wide.

"Obviously, Remus. Pure bloods…" Lily said.

"Did you tell Sirius?" Remus asked. Audrey shook her head. "I just got back now…I need a bath, I need to wash their stares off of me." She was half serious, half joking.

After sitting in the bath for a while, Audrey came back down to find all of her friends now in the common room. As always, they snuck Sarah in.

"_Audweee_!" Sarah chirped, excited. "How was the gig?"

Audrey exchanged a look with Remus and Lily and sat down on the couch next to James, recounting the party once more.

"WAIT…you saw them?" Sirius asked, he seemed alarmed.

Audrey wasn't so sure why he was so alarmed, but she replied calmly. "I didn't _see_ them, I merely heard your mother speak."

Sirius cringed and replied. "That woman is _not_ my mother."

"Sorry." Audrey said quietly.

"Its alright, it's not your fault." Sirius bit his lip for a moment.

"So what were they like?" Marlene asked, wanting to change the subject. "The purebloods."

_**It was such a funny question, for the McKinnons were pure blooded, and so were the Potters.**_

"Well, three of them are in this room, I don't know if I should say anything." Audrey retorted, a smirk on her lips.

"You have our permission." said James.  
>"To rip on them as much as you want. Seriously." Sirius finished.<p>

"You both are weird." Audrey laughed.

"It's the blood, love." Sirius grinned, brushing his lips to her knuckles.

_**I felt a little jolt up my arm, but I repressed…**_

"They were the worst sort." Audrey sighed. "One woman was complaining about her house elf being pregnant. I wanted to strangle her with my C-string."

"Typical." James snorted.

"I bet the women were walking around with five tons of jewelry too." Marlene laughed.

"They were!" Audrey exclaimed. "On my way in I saw this stick of an old woman wearing about ten necklaces, they were weighing her down!"

Everyone burst into laughter, Audrey felt a little better.

_**The first snow came in late November, and none of us could be happier. There was two feet on the ground and as soon as class let out one Friday the group took to the grounds.**_

"Ahh!" James said, spinning around. "How I love the first snowball fight of the season."

Marlene and Audrey snorted simultaneously. The had snowball wars every year since they started school. Every year they became a little more elaborate and intense. Since their first year, and since their second year when they all had found out about Audrey's abilities, they established a solid set of rules for their snowball fight.

Every year, James and Sirius took it upon themselves to recite some of these rules.

"Rule number one, Russia isn't allowed to aid you in flying or fly herself." recited Sirius, shooting Audrey a look.

"Rule number two, Russia isn't allowed to cause any earthquakes." said James, shooting Audrey a look as well. She rolled her eyes.

"That was one time!" Audrey protested.

"Rule number three, there will be no pulling of hair…_especially _mine." said Sirius, shooting a look at Marlene, she flipped him off.

"Rule number four, tackling is allowed, however do not break the bones of the person you're tackling." said James.

"Rule number five, there are no more rules." said Sirius.

As usual, Marlene drew the battle line in the snow and four lined up on each side. All chaos ensued.

_**We always went a little overboard when we had snowball fights, anything went, and new things were always thought of to get around the rules**_.

Audrey was dodging Sirius and Remus' attack, out of nowhere, Marlene had tackled Remus to the ground.

"Thanks Marly!" Audrey called, still running from Sirius. She levitated a few snowballs and threw them behind at her attacker.

Sirius let out a frustrated grunt as he got smacked directly in the face with a snowball.

"RUSSIA!" He roared, Audrey giggled.

**It was nearly impossible for me to maintain this tough guy exterior around her, whenever I saw her smile or heard her laugh I melted.**

Sirius dove for her but she got away just in time, instead he got another face full of snow. Audrey found her way to Sarah turned and laughed again, Sirius lifted his head, spitting out some snow.

"I'm going to get you Russia-" Sirius growled, a smirk on his face.  
>"And your little Puffer too!" added James.<p>

"BADGER AWAAAAAY!" Sarah yelled, skipping through the snow. Peter went after her but she sped up easily. Audrey looked to her left and noticed Marlene and Remus snogging in the snow.

"OI! MARLY!"

Marlene looked up at her best friend, who gave her the look that said _'This is war, remember?'_

"Oooh, right." Marlene said, still pinned under Remus…She made a face at him and lightly slapped him across the face. She rolled out from under him and ran.

Remus sat up, wearing a wolfish grin and ran after her. Marlene kicked into gear and sprinted full out, Remus followed her, anticipating her movements.

Sirius and Audrey were pelting each other with snowballs. Ahead of her, Audrey could see that James had cornered Lily easily, he was smirking and Lily looked pissed. She had to laugh, how many times had James cornered Lily and nothing happened? Poor James.

To her left, Marlene and Remus were battling it out. She hid behind a makeshift snow wall and he was slowly advancing. When she heard Marlene yell and then laugh she knew Remus had gotten her.

Then to her right, she noticed Sarah had cornered Peter and was pelting him with snowballs….well, _that _wasn't surprising.

And then she fell, face first into the snow.

"SIRIUS!" Audrey yelled, struggling against him.

"Payback for the face plant earlier, love." Sirius whispered in her ear from on top of her.

_**The white snow had turned into familiar intricate wood tiles…**_

Audrey took a sharp inhale and shook for a moment.

**I didn't know what was happening, she shook and then she seized up for a moment, her eyes went black. She wasn't angry, I could sense it…there was this fearful expression on her features…**

"Audrey?" Sirius rolled off of her so that he was right next to her, her breathing was shallow. The commotion around him told him that the snowball fight was still happening.

_**I saw the blood on the floor…my blood…**_

"Audrey?" Sirius gently turned her over, her eyes were still black.

_**I looked up and I saw Alina just lying there…then…**_

_**Snow again.**_

Her eyes returned to their normal state, Sirius was relieved to see the familiar light hazel irises. Her eyes bore into his, she didn't register what had just happened. She sat up shakily, Sirius wrapped his arms around her for support.

"What happened?" Audrey asked faintly.

"I should be asking you that question." Sirius looked her square in the eyes, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I haven't the slightest idea…" Audrey lied, she knew what she saw, she just didn't know why. "I feel like I was just hit by the bloody Knight Bus." Audrey groaned, rubbing her temples for a moment. Her whole body felt heavy.

"I think we should get you to the infirmary, you were acting odd…" Sirius mumbled, concerned.

"Was I really?" Audrey bit her lip. Sirius nodded.

"What's going on?" said Lily, running over. "Are you alright? Sirius what did you do?"

Audrey noticed the rest of her friends running over as well.

"Lils, Sirius didn't do anything…" Audrey said.  
>"For once." Marlene mumbled, Audrey gave her friend a tiny smile.<p>

"What happened, Audwee?" James asked.

"She blacked out for a moment, scared me to death." Sirius said.

"Oh, you should go to the infirmary." Sarah bit her lip.

Before Audrey could insist that she was fine, a brilliant red and orange flash swooped in front of her.

"Fawkes!" She said weakly, petting the phoenix and taking the note tied to his leg. She read it quickly.

"I've got to go see the Headmaster about something." She said, getting up. "I'll meet you all back in the common room later, okay?"

Audrey ignored the questions and suggestions of her friends, the calls of "Are you sure you're alright?" and the "You should go to the infirmary."

_**I was not sure at the time what the Headmaster needed from me, but I was grateful for his timing.**_

"Lemon drop." Audrey said quickly to the Gargoyle who jumped out of the way.

_**It shouldn't have been too shocking to me that Albus wasn't alone in his office, Hisoka was there as well.**_

"She's rather quick, isn't she, Hisoka?" Albus mused, opening the door.

"Sir, there's something I need to ask you…but first, what did you need me here for?" Audrey asked.

"Hisoka actually wanted me to call you." said Albus, smiling as Fawkes had returned to him and perched on his shoulder. "I'll leave you two to talk."

Albus went into the other room, and Audrey turned to Hisoka giving her a bow. Hisoka nodded, gesturing for her to sit with her.

"I have been thinking a lot during your first two gigs…we need to change something."

"Change what?" Audrey asked, a little alarmed.

_**I had thought my start had been decent…**_

"These clients, they want more than pretty music. Especially the men." Hisoka began. "It's a very small change, Ayla, but I assure you it will help greatly."

"Alright…" Audrey replied, confused. "May I ask what?"

"Your eyes." Hisoka said.

"How though?" Audrey cocked her head. "I've never heard of it, or seen it done before."

Hisoka pulled a small vial from her kimono, inside was a silvery liquid that reminded Audrey of a memory.

"What is it?"

"It's a potion that changes iris coloring." Hisoka replied calmly. Audrey didn't mind the idea of altering something that miniscule but she wasn't sure about it.

"Don't get me wrong here…I completely trust you…but, I don't know what my parents would think of me if I altered anything."

"I asked them a few days ago." Hisoka replied, taking out a folded piece of parchment from her kimono. She unfolded it and Audrey realized it wasn't a letter at all, it was a photo of Airleas.

_**I wasn't sure how old the photo was of my mother, it wasn't in black and white, but wizarding photography had always been ahead of muggle photography by at least thirty years. It was a peculiar photo, my mother was a younger, not much older than myself at the time. My mother's eyes were brown, all of my life I had known her eyes to be emerald green.**_

"I did not know my mother had brown eyes at one point in her life…" Audrey said, looking at the photo closely. Airleas was laughing.

Hisoka nodded. "It is common folk lore that when a banshee's eyes change color like that it means she will be a leader someday."

Audrey resisted the urge to snort at that, her mother already was a leader…the leader of their household at least.

Audrey nodded instead and said. "That's why she was okay with this?"

"And your father." said Hisoka in her musical voice. "He took that photo, after all."

Surely enough, on the back of the photo there was a familiar scrawl. Taken by _Isaac._

"Will it hurt?" Audrey asked, motioning to the vial.

"From what I understand, it does sting a bit." Hisoka frowned. "I have some saline to soothe it, it only lasts for about two days and then the burning goes away."

"Is it permanent?"

Hisoka nodded.

_**Since that horrible Christmas, I was very determined to change and forget. The grief I felt was like fiendfyre, unstoppable, inevitable. But to be someone else while I worked, to adopt that persona was like a counter curse.**_

_**The pain that potion brought upon my eyes was incredible, it felt like the fire had spread into my irises. My eyes teared an awful lot.**_

Audrey made her way from Hisoka's quarters, down the stairs, into the entrance hall. She stumbled down the castle's steps and sat on the last one. Her vision was a bit blurry from all of the tearing.

"Audrey! What happened?" A familiar voice exclaimed, running up to the steps and sitting next to his best friend.

"Oh it's nothing, Sev." Audrey said casually, covering her eyes.

"Then why were you crying?" He retorted, gesturing to her tear streaked face.

"I wasn't." She said. "I just was summoned to the Headmaster's office to meet with Hisoka."

"Your mentor?" He replied, remembering how fond she was of Hisoka, and wondering what she had said to her to upset her.

"Yes. She told me we needed to change something. She says it'll benefit me later" She was still covering her eyes.

"That's awful!" Severus scowled. "Shouldn't music just be about the sound, rather than the appearance of the person?"

"It's not _only _music that these clients want." Asia sighed.

"Muggles." Severus snorted in disgust.

"It's not only the muggles, _Sev_." Asia hissed. "I performed for Zacharias Flint last Saturday, he did nothing but stare." She shivered in disgust.

"Oh…" Severus said. "What did she alter?" He added quickly, wanting to change the subject.

Audrey took her hand off of her eyes and looked at him, he noticed her startling emerald green irises, so similar to the shade of green on the hem of his robes and gasped.

"I know." Audrey sighed "Quite a change. It burns like hell."

"She changed them by potion?" Severus said curiously.

"Yes, she said its a very old potion, originated somewhere in northern China. She told me the burning stops after two days." Audrey groaned, thinking of how she would have to wait so long.

"It's different, deeper than your normal eyes." Severus observed. Audrey nodded.

"It'll take some getting used to, I suppose."

They stayed on the steps for a little while longer, talking about school and other random things. When they both started to feel a bit cold they went inside to their separate common rooms.

_**As I made my way back through the nearly barren school, I wondered what my friends would think when they saw me. I wondered if they'd even notice.**_

When Audrey came through the portrait hole, she was greeted with a bunch of _Where were you's?_ and _Are you alright's?_

"I'm fine." Audrey held her hands up in surrender. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Lily bit her lip.  
>"Yes! Don't worry, I'm fine." Audrey laughed, her friends were like a bunch of overbearing mothers.<br>"Why were you crying then?" said a sly voice.

_**Sirius, of course.**_

"Audrey! You liar!" said Lily.

Audrey groaned, still covering her eyes, she sat on the couch next to Marlene and Remus. "Can I explain myself?"

"You'd better, Russia." James said, in a fatherly voice.

"I was summoned to the Headmasters office because Hisoka wanted to see me about something."

"Well?" said Sirius, impatient.  
>"Let her finish you git." Marlene snapped, throwing a pillow at Sirius. Remus congratulated her on her direct hit.<br>"You're so whipped, Moony." Sirius snarled, James laughed.

"Can Audrey get back to her story now?" Lily said to the boys, giving them a look. They quieted.

"Hisoka was telling me how she thought that my first two gigs went well, but I needed something more."

"What more could you possibly need?" Sirius asked.

_**I was lucky that my hand was covering most of my face, I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.**_

"Sirius, let her finish." said Lily, looking annoyed. Sirius stuck his tongue out at her.

"So…then this happened." Audrey said, loosing her train of thought because of Sirius. She took her hands away from her eyes.

Marlene fox whistled, Lily squealed, Remus grinned, Peter and James smirked, and Sirius' jaw dropped.

James walked over to Sirius and closed his mouth for him.

"_Hell-o_, Russia!" James growled seductively. Sirius shot him a nasty look, he knew James was kidding, but still.

"James, never do that again." Audrey laughed. "It's freaky…this whole thing."

"No, it's not." said Remus.

"Yeah, I really like it." Marlene grinned and clapped her hands together. "You're going to be followed around by every guy in this school!" She and Lily then squealed together.

**Bloody girls and their squealing…**

"We have to show Sarah!" Lily said giddily, jumping off the couch. James grabbed her by her hips and pulled her back down.

"Relax, Evans. Sarah will see her at breakfast." James said, giving her a look.

"Are you going to tell…you know?" Marlene nudged Audrey.

_**Marlene, Lily, and Sarah did not utter Karl's name, especially around the Marauders. Though they had gotten along for the latter part of the previous year, we were all under the impression that James and Sirius especially weren't fond of him.**_

Audrey shook her head. "I haven't written to _you know _in a month."

"Maybe it's for the better then…" Lily suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.

_**Like all teenage girls, we often spoke in some form of code. For example, whenever one would make a reference to Sirius Black, she would wiggle her eyebrows. **_

"Oh shut it, Lils!" Audrey growled, throwing a pillow at Lily.

The rest of the night was filled with jokes and laughter, along with the occasional pillow fight. It was then that Audrey had realized that she forgot to tell the Headmaster about what had happened during the snowball fight. But she shrugged it off, hoping it wouldn't happen again.


	52. Chapter 52

Another long chapter, I may write a bit tomorrow but publishing is questionable with Hurricane Irene. However, I live inland, so I'm only in a Tropical Storm warning. If I have any readers on the East Coast, STAY SAFE!

Thanks for the reviews, thewrittenword87, marycaity, and kankananime123! :D

You know, after this chapter…I better get me some reviews. ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 52

"At the temple, there is a poem called Loss carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet scratched them out. You cannot read loss, only feel it."

- Memoirs of a Geisha

_**I hadn't any performances or gigs during the month of December, Hisoka wanted to give me a rest and as always, she was planning something. Once December began, everyone in the school wore the same dazed expression. A sign that the Christmas holidays were around the corner.**_

"Sirius? Hello?" Audrey waved her hand in front of his face.

"What? Oh, sorry…" Sirius said, snapping out of his trance. "What are we supposed to add?"

"Beetle eyes." Audrey cringed, Sirius laughed.

"You're such a girl."

"Shut up and put the eyes in." Audrey replied, stirring their cauldron. Sirius obliged.

After a few moments of silence, he spoke.

"So, what are you doing for the holidays?"

It was a rather sensitive topic of course, I knew I was stepping on pixie egg shells. But I was genuinely curious, as were the rest of our friends…

"I'm going home." Audrey replied calmly, adding some caterpillar into the cauldron. "Why?"

"I was just wondering…" Sirius replied.

"What are you doing for the holidays?" Audrey asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Henry and Elly invited me to stay with them and James, quite lovely." Sirius grinned, Audrey gave a small laugh.

"Typical of them." Audrey smiled. Sirius nodded. Out of nowhere, a paper bird came flying to their table. Sirius opened it discreetly so that Professor Slughorn wouldn't see.

_New Year's Eve Party  
><em>_My house.  
><em>_Be there.  
><em>_-JP_

Sirius and Audrey both looked to their left where James sat with Marlene. Sirius nodded giving him a thumbs up, Audrey nodded as well exchanging a look with Marlene which told her she was attending as well. James grinned.

_**I cannot fully explain Christmas to you, it was a holiday usually filled with much joy for my family but this was entirely different. We ate dinner together, my mother and I that is…my father sat with us, but refused to eat. When we asked why he told us so that he could understand the hollowness that he felt…  
><strong>__**That was the only time he spoke, otherwise he remained in silence for the duration of the holiday. His eyes appeared to be stuck in a perpetual state of black, his face was void but his eyes said it all. When he wasn't spending his time with us, he was playing the cello that was now his…I cannot say if that helped him feel full once more or drained him further. It took a rather peculiar toll on me to see him in such great sadness, my father was always so thrilled for the holidays. He loved to decorate the house…**_

_**My mother took on that responsibility herself, though the house was only half decorated. When I asked her why she told me that she did not wish to remind my father of this holiday more than he already was. **_

"Your father, he doesn't forgive himself. I don't know if he ever will…" Airleas said, looking out the window at the snow. Isaac was upstairs tuning his cello.

"Why mother?" Audrey asked, blinking tears from her eyes.

"Last year, we celebrated the holidays as we always do, with the additions of David, Charlotte, Deirdre and Robert. We were celebrating late into the evening, drinking, laughing…and then we received the owl from Albus." Airleas shivered for a moment. "After that night, your father said he would never forgive himself for enjoying himself while his family was being slaughtered at home."

"But Papa wasn't aware at the time…" Audrey's voice broke.

"He says that is inexcusable for him…I can see what he means, but I do not think he should let himself fester with the guilt that does not belong to him." Airleas replied.

_**We exchanged gifts. My mother was the only one that remained optimistic, I did not know what I was feeling or how to feel. As a child, I had never experienced my father in such a state. This was a new shattering reality.**_

Omi, Audrey's owl flew into her bedroom that evening carrying an envelope with a familiar scrawl.

Audrey's lip trembled when she saw who it was from.

_Audrey,_

_I sit here in my grandfather's home tonight only thinking of my lost friends with great sadness. The heaviness increases when I think of you and your family…I cannot even come close to fathoming how you may feel this Christmas. My grandfather, he feels the same way too, he just won't say it…he avoids the subject all together. It's snowing so heavily here that it's hard to see anything, but before dusk Sven, Afanasi, and I met in the palace square and made our way over to St. Aleksander's. The amount of flowers and wreaths there is incredible, and we added our own additions. Perhaps we didn't know this because we were all away, but the news was widespread across Russia…of course only those of us inside know the truth. It angered many people here, they've become brave tongued. In Gosha's café, while I was waiting to pick up dinner for the evening, it was so crowded, and everyone began to murmur about "The St. Aleksander's Massacre." I thought my heart was going to explode…and I don't mean to upset you with all of this. What I really must tell you is that there are whispers and murmurs around the country…the Ministry and the press try to mute them, but they are becoming more frequent as the months go by. Anger, riots…the people are beginning to fight back. Afanasi sees more of it than Sven and I do, these men and women post anonymous fliers and murals around the city. _

There were two photos enclosed with the letter, Karl wrote on the back of one. "Afanasi took these."

_**The first photo, was a massive riot in the palace square, all that could be seen was people moving in the photo, jets of light, and fire…**_

_**The second photo, was a wall I knew well…it was a high wall that Sven and I used to sit on nearly every day. On one side of the wall was a painting of a blue and white palace I knew well…in a circle around the palace were nine heads. Nine heads that made my heart flutter and my throat constrict. On the top of the circle, above the palace, were depictions of my grandparents and my great uncle, on each side going around the circle were my aunts, uncle, and cousins.**_

"помнить святой Александр…борьба!"

_**Remember Saint Aleksander's…fight.**_

_That has been the mantra, remember and fight._

_Audrey, they did not die in vain…these people have been defending their memory. Complete strangers! Sven misses you terribly he just won't admit it, Afanasi and my grandfather send their love. _

_Words cannot describe how I feel right now, I miss you so much. As always, I am thinking of you. _

_I don't expect to hear from you right away, but I needed you to know all of that._

_Love,_

_Karl_

_P.S. When you see Sirius Black again, do remind him of our conversation last year._

Audrey tucked the letter and the photos back into the envelope, curled under her covers and cried for the first time in months it seemed. She had been holding it in as long as she could.

_**I packed up my things once more on the thirty first and flooed to the Potter residence early in the afternoon…I needed to get out of my house. My mother insisted that it wasn't good for me to be there while my father was in such a low state, and I was sent off early.**_

Audrey hadn't had the best landing out of the fireplace and tumbled into James' kitchen.

"RUSSIA!" James yelled, picking her up off the ground and crushing her into a hug. Audrey had to laugh, she was so happy to see James.

"Hello James." Audrey grinned. "Where are the others?"

"Peter is the only one here so far, other than Sirius and myself. Marlene and Sarah are coming together in a few hours, Remus is coming in an hour or so, and I haven't the slightest idea when Evans is coming." James looked slightly sad at the mention of Lily, he was like a lovesick puppy.

"I'm sure she'll come around the same time that Sarah and Marly come." Audrey supplied, knowing how James felt about Lily.

"Come into the den." James said, dragging her trunk with him. "I'll bring this upstairs."

"No, James, you don't have to. Really, I can take it up there myself." Audrey insisted.

"Oh bloody hell, Russia. Let a guy be chivalrous for once!" said a smooth voice.

Audrey turned to see a smirking Sirius Black.

"Hello to you too, Black." Audrey replied, narrowing her eyes. Sirius reciprocated the glare, after a few seconds they broke off into laughter.

"Well, Sirius, why don't you carry Audrey's trunk?" Peter shot a mischievous look at Sirius.

He covered himself smoothly and replied. "Well, Peter, our dear James is already halfway up the stairs."

"Thanks, Mate." grunted James. "Love you too."

Sirius blew him a kiss, James gagged.

"If only Marly were here…" Audrey sighed, smirking as she put her hands behind her head and learned back onto the sofa.

"We don't need Marly here hitting us all, Audrey." Peter groaned.

"She's the violent side, I'm the…"

"Other violent side?" Sirius raised an eyebrow, then high fived Peter.

"I suppose." Audrey replied, cocking her head slightly and letting her teeth turn into sharp points, her face began to change to blue green scales. She wore a grin that showed her teeth off well.

Peter screamed and jumped behind the couch.

**I knew what she was up to…she was pulling the little gimmick she did on Halloween a year ago, and I wasn't going to lose.**

Sirius stared Audrey down, her eyes were changing colors rapidly. Peter was still cowering behind the couch.

Audrey folded her arms, her expression not changing. She was quite amused that Sirius was standing his ground.

"You know." Sirius said, not taking his eyes off of her. "I do believe that you are the literal expression of an angry witch. The one about angry witches turning into monsters, you're a very _beautiful _monster though."

…_**have I ever mentioned that Sirius Black will hit on anything that isn't male?**_

Audrey made as though she were about to blow him a kiss, but instead a stream of fire came out. She giggled.

James came barreling down the stairs, and Audrey let her face and her teeth turn back to their normal state.

"What's going on down here? …Why do I smell fire?…Peter, why are you behind the couch?"

Peter pointed at Audrey, who turned and smiled at James.

"I was just showing Peter some of my finer tricks, James. Nothing to worry about."  
>"She's got a rather <em>fiery<em> persona." Sirius chimed in.

For a while, they all sat there, talking about the holidays. Audrey didn't say much, she just listened and zoned out for a while.

"Hey Russia, we have to show you something." said James, grinning.

"What?" Audrey asked.

"You need to come upstairs to see it." said Sirius, also grinning.

"I don't trust you, Sirius." Audrey said flatly

"Audrey, we have to show it to you _upstairs_." said Peter, a tinge of urgency in his voice.

"Russia, I promise as long as I'm up there you won't get raped by Sirius." James said jokingly, that had been a thing for years.

"Okay, James. Because you know I am completely defenseless against the big bad wolf over there." Audrey said swooning and taking James arm.

Peter and Sirius laughed at the wolf joke and James grinned leading Audrey up the stairs. The other two followed.

"James…it'd probably be best to do it in the attic." Sirius said quietly, making sure no one else was around.

'Good call." replied James, opening the attic hatch in the hallway. A tiny step ladder came down and he went first, Audrey went second, Sirius was right behind Audrey much to her dismay, and Peter brought up the rear.

"Why the attic?" Audrey asked, as Peter shut the hatch and James undid the curtains on the windows.

"Because no one will hear you scream when I rape you." Sirius said in a monotonous voice, incredibly sarcastic. Audrey smacked him.

"You deserved that one, mate." James chuckled. "All together then?"

The other two nodded.

"One."  
>"Two."<br>"Three!"

_**Before my very eyes, I watched my friends transform…**_

"Oh my Merlin!" Audrey covered her mouth with her hand. Peter was a small rat, Sirius was a jet black dog, and James was a brilliant stag. Audrey crouched down, picked up Peter, and cooed. "_Aww_, Peter, you're by far the cutest!"

The rat squeaked excitedly, which sounded a lot like laughter. One of it's little paws pointed at Sirius as if to say _"Ha!"_

The black dog went up to Audrey and nudged his head against her leg a few times, whining. The stag behind it let out a snort and dragged the dog back with one of it's antlers.

Audrey put Peter back down on the ground and said "Alright you lot, I'm feeling lonely…transform back."

They obliged, and the three boys sat in front of her once more.

"So…you're illegal?" Audrey said in a low voice. They nodded. "Might I ask why?"

"Well, my dear Russia." began Sirius, who got up and began to pace for a moment. "We wanted to do something for Moony."

"It's his Christmas present from us. " said James.

"To keep him company when he transforms?" Audrey asked.

"Precisely." Sirius smiled.

"Aw, that's sweet of you three. I'm sure he'll like it…but what if someone finds out?" Audrey bit her lip.

"Which is why we're only telling you, and Remus." said James, giving her a look that said _'Please keep it quiet.'_

Audrey made a zipper motion across her lips and nodded.

There were three loud thuds and an _ow! _That came from the kitchen. The four rushed downstairs.

Audrey was the first down there and nearly tackled Marlene to the ground in a hug. She then went for Sarah, then Lily.

"Hi!" Sarah said, hugging back.

_**There were only three people that I had told about my holidays, Sarah, Marlene, and Lily. Chantal and Teagan were both away with their families for the holidays and I refused to bog Severus with my problems. He hated going home for the holidays, he only went so his mother wouldn't be alone with his father…**_

"Audrey couldn't take it with us anymore, so she's obviously thrilled that you're here." Sirius said, Audrey shot him a look.

"Well we are the life of the party." Sarah said. "Of course she's glad we're here." said Lily, crossing her arms.

"And we're quite attractive." Marlene grinned, giving Remus a peck.

"And we need to talk about girl things…so yeah." Sarah said, grabbing Marlene's hand and Audrey's hand, Audrey grabbed Lily's hand and Sarah dragged them upstairs.

"Be good lads and bring our stuff up?" Marlene called, grinning.

"Only because I love you." Remus replied, taking Marlene's trunk with ease. Sirius and Peter took Sarah's. James took Lily's, Audrey was sure she could hear Sirius muttering something about him being a showoff.

The girls shut themselves into Audrey's guestroom at the end of the hallway, and Audrey began telling them about Christmas, her father, and Karl's letter.

"_Words cannot describe how I feel right now, I miss you so much. As always I am thinking of you?" _Marlene said, putting down Karl's letter. "Why the bloody hell did you dump him? He's perfect for you!"

Audrey had her head in her hands.

"That's not the point, Marly." Lily said calmly. "Plus, we all know Audrey's feelings have shifted to Captain Stupid down the hall." Lily jerked her head towards the window.

"Maybe you can whip some sense into him." suggested Sarah.

The girls all looked at her, she hadn't realized what she just said. When she figured it out she covered her mouth and the girls laughed.

"On the topic of Karl, I didn't just dump him because I didn't love him." Audrey said pointedly. "I still love him very much, I just was so depressed last summer…I wasn't returning to St. Petersburg, I don't think I _ever _will return. I can't do a long distance relationship like that and Karl deserves someone who isn't depressed every damn second."

There was a small silence, everyone agreed it was best to change the subject.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the hallway, in Sirius' guest room the boys sat together.

"I hate it when they have girl talk." Remus groaned, hitting his head on Sirius' headboard.

"Why because you can't make out with McKinnon?" James smirked.

"Yes. That's exactly why." Remus replied calmly, knowing it would make James excited if he gave him a more snaky reaction.

"You are the _hardest _person to piss off, Moony." Sirius said, tutting.

Remus grinned and shrugged. "I go crazy when I'm a wolf, and that's about it."

Later on, Frank, Maksim, Alice arrived.

The rest of the day, into the night was filled with laughter, butterbeer, good food, and randomness.

_11:50 pm._

"What're you lunatics doing?" Sirius cocked his head at Marlene and Audrey. Audrey was on the ground and Marlene was standing helping her stretch her leg.

"Stretching." said Audrey.

"For what?" asked Remus, amused.

"Yeah that looks a little too sexual for my liking." Sirius smirked, Remus mirrored his smirk.

Audrey and Marlene shot Sarah a look, Sarah got up from the couch she was on with a pillow and began hitting Sirius. She then stopped, and hit Remus only twice.

"OI! You turned Puffer against us?" Sirius was incredulous. "And how come Moony only got hit twice?"

"Because Remus is mature." said Sarah, plopping back down on the couch. Audrey and Marlene switched places, still stretching.

"So why are you stretching again?" asked James.

"New Year's lap." said Marlene, as if it were obvious. Everyone else looked confused with the exception of Sarah.

"I guess it's a dancer thing." Audrey shrugged. "Teagan says every dancer does it at her school, and Chantal does it too."

"And people in our studio know about it." said Sarah.

"And the girls from my camp." said Marlene.

"So you just take a lap for the New Year?" asked Sirius. The three girls nodded.

"And we have to do it before 1 am." said Audrey.

"Hey! 11:59! Get ready!"

The boys began to yell for the new year, the girls laughed at them. As the clock chimed to ring in the New Year a flurry of things happened, and though there weren't many of them it was a little chaotic.

In that chaos, Sirius grabbed Audrey and kissed her.

…_**I didn't object.**_


	53. Chapter 53

Thanks for the reviews, marycaity, Madmad237, Masterofbugs123, LizziePixie-Aiko, Weasleytwinslover87, and kankananime123. :D

Shorter chapter tonight, I'm a bit burnt out today.

Author's note I forgot to include in the last chapter - David, Charlotte, Deirdre and Robert, are Chantal and Teagan's parents respectively.

Reviews are appreciated. ;] It lets me know you're reading the story.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 53

Audrey felt a tug on her hand, Marlene had saved her just in time and wanted to do the lap now. After all, James had a _big_ backyard.

_**I wasn't aware of my surroundings until I was pulled outside and felt the cold January air.**_

Sarah, Marlene, and Audrey took their lap barefoot.

_**The tradition varies, but my mother and I, when we had taken the lap in previous years with Chantal, Darcy, Deirdre, and Teagan, had done it barefoot. Marlene and Sarah had decided to give barefoot running a try this year.**_

"Did you just do…did I just see what…" Marlene said between breathes.

"I know! I know!" Audrey said. "It just…happened."

"And she was kissing him back!" Sarah squealed, clicking her heals together mid run.

"Well?" asked Marlene.

"Well what?"

"Was it good?" Sarah elbowed her.

"He wasn't too bad." Audrey shrugged.

_**I lied…he was **__really __**good.**_

**She'd never outright said that I was better than Gregorovitch, but I'll just take the assumption…**

"I just can't believe…" Marlene was shell shocked. "I don't even know what to say."

"And you think I do?" Audrey was exasperated as they came closer to James' back door again where everyone was waiting inside. Marlene shivered.

"James! Your yard is huge!" Sarah panted, getting inside and wiping her feet on the rug.

"Yeah, it comes in handy for Quidditch." He replied as Marlene and Audrey came in next. Marlene instantly went for Remus, he was almost always warm.

"Oh look, there she goes to the space heater." Audrey nudged Sarah, Marlene grinned.

"Don't be jealous." Marlene joked.

"We're not jealous." said Sarah.

"We're just cold." said Audrey, shivering.

Sirius wore a playful smirk. "Then why go outside and run a lap? It's below freezing."

"Superstitions." Marlene spat, annoyed.

"We didn't do it last year." said Audrey, quietly thinking about the exact reason why they didn't do it. It was the worst year.

"Anyway, we should probably figure out rooms…" said Marlene. "Seeing as we're a bit over crowded."

"Oh! Right!" said James. "Moony, sleep in your girlfriend's room because we all know you want to."

Remus and Marlene grinned.

"Maksim, take Moony's room."

"While you lads are sorting that all out, Audrey and I are going to go get ready for bed." said Sarah, Audrey nodded and the two left and went up the stairs.

There were three bathrooms on the second floor of the Potter house. One bathroom was by James' room, which all the boys shared. The other bathroom was between Audrey and Sarah's room, which all of the girls shared. The third was in Mr. and Mrs. Potter's room.

After getting ready, brush her teeth, changing, and bidding Sarah a good night, Audrey made her way to her room.

"SIRIUS!"

Sirius Black was laying on her bed, smirking. He had this mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Hello to you too, love." He said seductively.

"Out!" Audrey pointed to the hallway.

"Can't." Sirius chuckled.

Audrey cocked her head, her eyes were narrowed.

"We're room mates tonight, darling. Frank and Alice are in my room, and I love those two! I wouldn't just kick their lovely faces out now wouldn't I?"

"And you can't sleep in James' room because…?"

"It's a man thing, you just wouldn't understand." replied Sirius, still very calm. The smirk hadn't left his face.

"Uh huh." Audrey replied, skeptical. She still stood in the doorway. She took a large inhale and yelled down the hallway.

"JAMES!"

"You rang, Russia?" said James appearing in the doorway with a smile. He looked over to her bed. "Oh hey, mate! Comfy?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter." Sirius drawled. "As always, many thanks for your hospitalities."

James bowed, grinning.

"James…" Audrey growled.

"Oh right." He said, grinning still. "Sirius, mate, let Audrey sleep in her bed. Be a good lad and take the floor."

"Alright, James." Sirius saluted, rolling off of the bed and lightly landing on the floor.

"See? Problem solved." James said to Audrey, shoving her into the room and closing the door.

"James!" Audrey tried to open the door but it was locked from the outside. She banged on the door. "That's not what I meant!"

"I think it's exactly what you meant, Russia!" James called. "Good night."

Audrey groaned, hitting her head on the door.

"You should come to bed, love." murmured a voice that made Audrey's insides squirm.

Sirius Black was back on the bed.

"I cannot believe you." Audrey said, shaking her head and not moving from her spot.

"I can't believe _you_, Russia." Sirius replied cockily, grinning broadly. "You _did_ kiss back after all."

**I knew she couldn't argue back with that one…and she didn't!**

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again. "Now, are you going to come and cuddle with your old friend Sirius here or not?"

Audrey sat on the edge of the bed, far from Sirius. He sat up and crawled over to her, wrapping his legs around her and then his arms around her torso, he rested his chin on her shoulder. She could feel his breath on her neck.

_**He was trying to break me.**_

**Of course I was. I'd only been trying for…oh…the last **_**five **_**years!**

Sirius used one hand and gently pushed her head in his direction, their lips dangerously close. Audrey leaned in, Sirius smirked coming closer. She silently inhaled, and then…

_Thud_.

"ARGH!"

Audrey blew Sirius off the bed, literally. She giggled, looking over the edge of the bed.

"Good night, Sirius." She said in a singsong voice. Then she blew him a kiss mockingly, pulled up the covers and nestled into bed.

A few minutes later, Audrey felt the bed move slightly and a pair of arms wrap around her waist. In a second, she felt herself being pulled towards something.

She opened and rolled her eyes. Though Sirius couldn't see that, he sensed it, and whispered in her ear.

"Can't get rid of me that easily, love."

"Mmm…" Audrey stretched for a moment. "Hey Sirius?"

"Yes?"

"I received a letter a few days ago from an old friend, and he told me to remind you of something…" Audrey said.

"And who would this friend be, Russia?" Sirius' breath tickled her ear, the butterflies were going crazy in her stomach. He planted a kiss on her neck.

"Karl Gregorovitch asked that I remind you of a conversation he had with you last year. I'm not sure what that means or what he's talking about, but I just figured I'd tell you." Audrey wore a smirk Sirius couldn't see.

_**I wasn't sure what Karl and Sirius had discussed, but if we were playing this game I figured that it'd be best to use the Karl Card as Marlene so eloquently worded it once.**_

**Ah yes, Karl had threatened me at the end of our fourth year.**

It didn't take long for Audrey to sink into sleep, she felt she had the last word for the night and was victorious. There were various little movements around the night between the two of them, tossing and minute turns. They woke just after noon the next day.

Audrey's eyes fluttered open to find that somehow she was now facing Sirius. He was already awake, and he pecked her on the lips, grinning. Audrey went to slap him but he caught her hand.

The two went down for breakfast, it seemed as though everyone else had woke around the same time.

"Morning you lot." said James. "Sleep well?"

"Like a baby." grinned Sirius, taking a seat next to his best friend.

"And you, Audrey?" James smiled.

"I slept well for a while, James." Audrey replied sweetly. Lily and Marlene nearly choked on their breakfast.

**She lied, she was pretty snug in my arms. She was just far too proud to admit it.**

"Did Sirius behave himself?" Remus said, giving Sirius a look.

"Remus, does Sirius _ever_ behave himself?" Lily snorted. Audrey laughed.

"Good point." Remus replied, munching on some toast.

"You know, I find that Sirius is like an over excited _dog_ sometimes." Audrey said, in her innocent Ayla-like voice. "He just needs to be trained properly."

With this, Peter, Remus, and James burst into laughter. Sirius grinned, leaning forward over the table slightly, towards Audrey.

"Baby, _you_ can discipline me any time you'd like."

The boys howled with laughter, the girls all scowled. Marlene threw a pancake at Sirius which missed him by centimeters.

Remus took Marlene's wrist and said. "Marly, if you're going to throw something at someone's head you must aim for the nose."

He guided her wrist into throwing another pancake at Sirius, which did hit him in the face. Sirius whined.

"_Reeeeeemus_, the things I do for you and you help her throw a pancake at me?"

"Terribly sorry, Sirius. But I can't help it." He grinned, kissing Marlene's hand.

Sirius muttered something along the lines of _'Damn wolfs and their affection.'_

The kitchen door opened and closed and Elly and Henry Potter walked in.

"Well, well, well!" said Sarah, getting up and holding out her arms for a hug. "Where have you two been? I was worried sick about you!"

"And you're past curfew!" James chimed in a fatherly tone.

"Terribly sorry, we were at the McKinnons." said Henry, he smiled at the kids' reactions to their tardiness.

"Partying?" James said incredulous.

"Until the wee hours of the morning?" Sirius grinned.

"Oh you boys know us too well." Henry laughed.

"I think we're going to go and catch up on some sleep…Happy New Year, dears. And James, try not to destroy the house." said Elly, making her way through the kitchen and up the stairs. Henry followed.

"So what do you all want to do today?" asked James.

"I'd like to go back to bed." Sarah yawned.

"I agree." said Alice, Frank nudged her and she blushed.

"I want to go back to bed without Sirius invading it." Audrey said.

"You loved it." Sirius smirked.

Audrey stuck her tongue out at him.

"Shut up and make out already." Frank called, Alice hit him.

"Audrey's a little too good for Sirius." Marlene smirked.

"Just like Moony's too good for you?" Sirius joked, Marlene threw another pancake at him.

"Sirius, I'm five seconds away from knocking your arse into last year." Audrey hissed, annoyed.

**I really enjoyed getting her angry, especially because she was always so calm.**

Sirius just grinned.

"Love you too, Russia."

Audrey's plate broke in frustration and annoyance, and she wasn't even touching it.

**England - 4  
><strong>**Russia - 1**

**(And I only gave her that point because I am a noble gent.)**


	54. Chapter 54

Thanks for the reviews, weasleytwinslover87, LizziePixie-Aiko, kankananime123, marycaity and javalon14! :D

Chapter 55 will be out right after this one!

Review's are nice…_Please_? :D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 54

_**The month of January was a rather busy one, once we returned to the school our teachers began to pile on more work in preparation for the O.W.L's. Along with that, I was in the dance studio almost every night, the nights that I wasn't I was practicing cello with Hisoka. She had given me a list of new music to learn, I had only one important engagement that month, but as always she would not tell me…**_

_**The New Year was also filled with a lot of Sirius Black…**_

"Audreeeeeeeey." Sirius whined, poking her.

"What is it Sirius?" Audrey asked, looking up from her potions book. Slightly annoyed.

"Can't you put this dumb text book down and come back to _play_?" said Sirius, brushing his lips up against her knuckles.

_**Sirius and I…we were undefined. I was a little more comfortable kissing him in public despite some teasing from our friends, but we weren't in a relationship. I felt very confused, after all I was kissing the enemy.**_

"When we're done studying, maybe." said Audrey, giving him a look. She had to laugh at his puppy dog face.

Sirius groaned, hitting his head on the table a few times.

"You humans are so greedy." Audrey mused, shaking her head with a smirk.

"What can I say, love? You enchant me." Sirius said smoothly.

Audrey snorted.

"Sirius, don't even use one of those lines on me…you can be so cheesy."

He grinned sheepishly.

"Love is never cheesy." He was triumphant.

"Such lies." Audrey said in an innocent voice.

Sirius groaned again, impatient. Audrey smiled to herself.

_**He wasn't the only one allowed to play games, and making him wait was rather amusing to me.**_

"_Audweeeeeee_." Sirius whined.

"Oh Audrey, shut him up and kiss him already!" said Remus, slightly annoyed.

"Or you can kill him, that works too." said Marlene, looking up from the book that she was reading for Remus.

"Love you too, McKinnon!" Sirius called sarcastically.

"Sirius, you've made out with half the school, if you're that impatient, go find a girl to snog."

Sirius got up and was about to make for the portrait hole when Audrey's hand shot out and grabbed his arm. He turned and smirked.

"Moony, she won't snog me, tells me to leave, then she wants me back." Sirius cocked his head.

"I don't know, Padfoot." said Remus. "Girls are just weird."

"More like we're too complex for you." said Lily, looking up from her Potions homework.

"I never said I _wasn't _going to kiss you, Sirius." Audrey said calmly, looking up from her textbook. "I just said you'd have to wait."

"Sirius Black doesn't wait, Russia." He said arrogantly, crossing his arms and staring down at her.

"This is why I hate you." Marlene said looking up.

"Why?"

"You're so damn arrogant." Marlene replied, glaring at him. He glared back for a few moments, then they broke off laughing.

"Either way, Sirius. You'll just have to wait." Audrey smirked.

"So not fair!" Sirius whined, sitting down next to her once more. "I mean, honestly, the O.W.L's are so far away. You can take a break."

Audrey shook her head. "No, I can't. My Maimeó always used to say _'Audrey, if you're ever given the opportunity to go to a magic school, you must never be lazy. It is very rare that creatures have such an opportunity, and if you do poorly you will disgrace this tribe.'_"

"Your…Maimeó?" Sirius cocked his head.

"My mother's mother." Audrey clarified.

_**I hadn't really spoke much of Maimeó, I barely knew her. She passed away when I was very young.**_

"I was confused, seeing as we've only heard you speak of your Nanna." Sirius said quietly, he knew he was hitting a sensitive spot.

Audrey nodded. "Maimeó passed when I was three."

"I'm sorry." Sirius murmured, taking her hand for a moment.

"It's fine, really. I didn't know her all too well…and she was eight hundred and ninety."

"Eight hundred and ninety?" Sirius' eyes widened.

"So how old is your mother then?" James asked, curious.

"Oh, she's about eighty technically."

Peter spit out his drink, everyone looked appalled except for Remus.

"Your mother…is eighty?" James said carefully.

"Yes." Audrey replied, casual.

_**I recall the day when I was a child that my mother told me about human beings, they were fragile, and they didn't live for hundreds of years…unless they were gifted or very healthy wizards. I was in such awe that they were so different from us, sometimes I truly forgot that living for over a century wasn't a normal thing in society.**_

"But…she looks like…"

"She's in her late twenties, early thirties?" Audrey asked.

Everyone nodded.

"They don't age as quickly, it takes _forever _for them to age. My father's similar, but he ages quicker."

"So what about you?" asked Peter.

Audrey shrugged. "My gene pool is rather eclectic, but I am half banshee, perhaps I'll live long."

"That is so weird and cool." James said in awe. "You and your parents will be around like…forever."

Audrey laughed, closing her book.

"Finally!" Sirius exclaimed, grabbing her head and kissing her roughly. She pushed him off, laughing.

"He's got no patience, Russia." James tutted.  
>"What a sod." Peter said sarcastically.<br>"More like a _man whore_." said Remus.

"Oh no one asked you lot!" Sirius scolded, joking as he pulled Audrey onto his lap. He rested his head on her shoulder, she shook her head shaking with silent laughter.

"You…" She poked his nose.  
>"Me…" Sirius grinned.<p>

"I think what she means to say, Sirius, is that you're ridiculous." said Lily. Audrey nodded.

"You're ridiculous, Evans." Sirius retorted.

"Lils, I thought you were supposed to be in the library with Sev?" Audrey asked, she felt Sirius cringe which she ignored.

_**A lot of the time, many believe that when something is just starting out. Something innocent…well, in my case it was innocent, I cannot speak for Sirius. When these little explosions start out, everyone assumes that you're over the moon in love and that you're perfect. A perfect love, is not love, it is an illusion. My heart was stretching in all different directions and going through the motions of falling. Since the new year had begun, I was analyzing the previous five years. Emotions are such complicated things to sort out. Had I loved him all along?**_

_**If it wasn't obvious in any of my previous statements, Sirius Black and I were complete opposites beyond the spectrum of human and creature. One of the biggest rifts we had always had was the people we chose to be around. In that case, it was Severus, one of my most trusted friends. I have told you of the harassment Severus had endured from James and Sirius, it angers me to no end to even think about it at the present moment.**_

_**I became particularly angry with Sirius during the middle of the month when I was walking from the library with Lily.**_

"D'you think he forgot?" Lily bit her lip.

"No." Audrey shook her head. "He never forgets! We've been doing this for four years now. How could he?"

"Maybe he got held back by a teacher?" Lily suggested.

"Was he supposed to be tutoring anyone today?" Audrey asked.

"No, it's Wednesday. He tutors on Tuesdays." replied Lily as they turned the corner to find Severus on the ground. And surely enough, James and Sirius were standing over him.

Audrey took a quick glance around the hallway to make sure there weren't others around, then she sent a tremor through the floor, knocking Sirius and James off to the side. Then the two girls strode over to Severus as he picked himself up from the floor, without even looking back at James or Sirius the three left.

"You don't have to save me every time." Severus grumbled looking at Audrey.

"I know you can handle yourself." Audrey shot back. "But you were on the ground! What did you expect me to do?"

"I appreciate it…I'm just surprised." Severus replied, brushing himself off. "I thought Black was tame now seeing as he's your boyfriend."

Audrey snorted. "Hardly."

"So you're just snogging for fun?" Severus shot back, his lip curling into a smirk. He knew he had her there.

"Doesn't mean we're a thing." Audrey huffed.  
>"Yet…" Lily mumbled, giving Severus a look.<p>

_**Severus, had been strangely alright with what had been going on between Sirius and myself. He was one of my best friends, and probably the strongest friend I had at Hogwarts along with Marlene. For the first few weeks in January, there had been a sort of cease fire from Sirius and James in regards to Severus. Just when I had thought things may be different, they had ambushed him…**_

After speaking with Severus for a few minutes, the three set off for their separate common rooms. All the way up to the seventh floor, Lily was fuming.

"…I just can't believe those two…especially Sirius…" Lily was so enraged she couldn't speak in complete sentences. "I mean, he's finally setting things well with you and he goes around and does this…aren't you angry?" Lily was exasperated by Audrey's silence.

"Yes, I'm enraged." Audrey replied calmly. "But I plan on giving Sirius the cold shoulder, I can't lose focus right now, I apparently have an important engagement Friday."

"Oh I completely forgot about that." Lily replied, calming down. "Sirius will go crazy…he can't last more than five minutes."

"I know." Audrey smirked. "Vengeance is sweet."

"Yes, yes it is." Lily laughed.

"So are you going to ignore James?"

"When don't I ignore him?" Lily replied, smirking.

"I wonder how long it'll be this time." Audrey said out loud, remembering Lily had ignored James for a solid month the previous year.

"I'm going to try and break my record." Lily said, as they got to the portrait hole. "Wattlebird."

The next two days passed quickly in silence, and Sirius and James became ever so persistent. Especially Sirius. Around six, Audrey was up in the fifth year girls dormitory getting ready for her gig when there was a banging at her window.

_**You can only imagine my surprise when I was half undressed to find Sirius Black outside of my window.**_

Audrey walked over to the window, and opened it. Sirius checked her out, smirking arrogantly.

**It was a very rare thing for Audrey to be that exposed. I know it makes me come off as pervy, but honestly, I didn't **_**know **_**her curtains would be open. I didn't **_**know **_**she'd just happen to be in her knickers and a v-neck.**

**(I just **_**assumed **_**that she was getting ready.)**

"Nice knickers, house pride." Sirius fox whistled, pumping his fist in the air. Audrey leaned out the window a bit, smirking.

**When a woman is insanely angry with you, sometimes, you have to do something a little crazy. And I thought I had done pretty well…**

Sirius leaned in for a kiss.

_Whack_.

Audrey closed the window and the curtains, grinning to herself.

**I'm not easily defeated by these things, by that time in my life I had been smacked across the face by more than half of the Hogwarts female student body. I had pretty tough skin after having so many five stars across my face, but she did leave quite the mark.**

"No luck I see, Padfoot." said James as Sirius returned to the common room with his broom over his shoulder. Sirius turned his head to the side.

"Look at this bloody mark!" He exclaimed, laughing.

"Well she isn't human, Sirius." said Remus, not looking up from the newspaper.

"It was totally worth it though." Sirius grinned.

"How is _that _worth it?" James asked, pointing to Sirius' cheek where the five star was.

"I saw Russia in her knickers." Sirius said triumphantly. "Gryffindor red and gold."

"Hmm, Marly has the same ones…anyway, I'd have expected her to knock you off your broom." Remus said, looking up from the Daily Profit

"_Moony_!" Sirius exclaimed, appalled. Remus winked and wore a wolfish grin.

"Just her knickers…or…" James wiggled his eyebrows.

"Knickers and a tee-shirt, Prongs. Sorry."

"You've got to clarify these things, Padfoot. You're not the only one with a dirty mind." said Peter.

"Apologies, Wormtail, Prongs…._Moony_." Sirius winked. Remus smiled, shaking his head.

"I'm surprised she didn't kill you, she must have been feeling generous." said Remus.

"More like she's madly in love with me and she won't admit it." Sirius said, sitting down next to James. "Now let's talk some Marauder business, shall we?"

Up on the third landing, Marlene was silently making her way back up to the fifth floor.

"Sirius just got back." Marlene said, coming into the room where Lily and Audrey were. "He was talking about our undies."

"Bloody hell, we're all going to have to burn those now." Lily shook her head, disgusted.

"I'll start the fire." said Alice, grinning. She loved pyrotechnics.

"Well, at least we still have the matching polka dot ones with Sarah, that's all that really matters." said Audrey, pulling on the dress Hisoka had picked for her. It was a floor length deep purple strapless dress, it hugged her curves slightly. On the torso there was a detailing of silver and plum flowers that ended at her hips.

"He was also saying…" Marlene put on her best Sirius face and mimicked his cool voice. "_She's madly in love with me and she won't admit it."_

Audrey, Alice, and Lily burst out laughing.

Audrey began applying her make up, a light smoky eye and some lip gloss.

_**I wore very little make up when I was around my friends and family, Hisoka had shown me some tricks to highlight my face that also concealed my identity...but one can only do so much without overdoing.  
><strong>_

"What are you going to do when you have to go down there and pass those gits?" Marlene asked. Audrey shrugged, tapping her fingers on her cello case. It disappeared, going to Hisoka's quarters in the West wing.

"Would you be my escort?" Audrey asked, Marlene grinned, grabbing some black eyeliner and a hat.

"Let me get myself oriented first."

Five minutes later, Audrey walked down the stairs latched onto Marlene's arm.

Sirius fox whistled again but Audrey didn't respond, she was still giving him the cold shoulder.

"Oh sure, Marlene dresses in drag and pencils on a beard and a mustache and she's _totally _fine!" Sirius called sarcastically as Audrey and Marlene passed. He couldn't see the huge grins on their faces.

Audrey gave Marlene a kiss on the cheek and said. "Bye baby!" and left.

As Marlene sat down next to Remus, Sirius groaned in frustration.

"I think your mustache is a little crooked." Remus said, grinning at her.


	55. Chapter 55

As promised…Chapter 55! :]

Reeeeeeview please?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 55

As always, Audrey ran through the empty halls of Hogwarts barefoot, making her way towards Hisoka's room. She knocked quickly, excited.

"Ah, I see someone's excited." Hisoka beamed, opening her door. Audrey bowed to her.

"Thank you for the dress, it's wonderful." Audrey smiled.

"It's a black tie event technically, which leaves the performers at a range for dark but vibrant colors." Hisoka's eyes danced.

"What is the event?" Audrey asked, anxious to hear.

"It's a gala for the International Quidditch League, being held in the south of France. They take a break around this time of the winter because it is so cold in some areas. Teams from all over the world will be there, as well as entertainers."

"With so many entertainers though, how will the run times be?"

_**The run times per gig varied, depending on the gig. I had learned that before I debuted that our run times always depended on the number of guests and the number of entertainers. That night at the gala there were nearly three hundred men there, more than half were married or had dates so there were only fifty of us entertaining.**_

_**The venue was incredibly large, it was surrounded by large windows that over looked the Mediterranean sea. I'm sure it was a rather odd building to see from the outside… It had an odd shape, the main room was circular, where there was a dance floor and a few tables around it, and from that room there were five rectangular and square chambers branching off from it. There were more tables to accommodate all of the guests in those chambers. With fifty of us, we were divided into sets of ten and assigned to a chamber for performances. So while I performed, there were five other girls performing at the same time. You could just barely hear them as you played, I had the fortune of playing second which gave me time to mingle after my performance.**_

_**Hisoka had always told me, especially before I debuted that half of this job was mingling. The gala was the first opportunity I really had to do that, and my was it tempting when there were a bunch of good looking athletes around.**_

…**But none can top **_**me**_**. **

"Excuse me." said an accented voice.

_**Perhaps because I have spent portions of my life in Russia, England, and within several banshee colonies I have an easier time differentiating accents than my peers. I have been told often that my accent has a hint of Russian and something else.**_

Audrey turned around to find a rather burly man with short brown hair and light brown eyes staring down at her with a smile. He was a head taller than she was.

"Would you like to dance?" He asked, Audrey smiled and nodded.

"I really liked your interpretation of that Schubert piece." He said, twirling her around.

_**If someone actually knows what you're playing, they're worth keeping around.**_

"Thank you, I wasn't sure if anyone was paying attention." Audrey laughed, he grinned. "Half of the blokes here just stare at the women anyway, they don't really use their ears much…I'm Blake, by the way."

"Ayla." Audrey smiled.

"That's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl." He murmured, still smiling.

"Thank you." Audrey blushed.

_**I will admit to you that it was me genuinely blushing behind my stage persona.**_

"This may seem like an odd question." Blake began, as the music slowed. "But where are you from? I can't entirely place your accent…" He blushed, seeming a little embarrassed.

_**When it came to questions of origin, or questions about ourselves, we always answered truthfully. What all of those entertainers in the gala that night had in common was that we were not who we said we were. Back then, my name was Audrey. My birth name is Audrey. But you must understand that when you start to do this for so long and you want it bad enough, it consumes you. Some say that is all a part of the artistry, but it is a very painful revelation.**_

"I was born in Russia." Audrey replied. "But I currently live in the United Kingdom."

"That explains it, Sheila." Blake smiled, twirling her around again. Audrey laughed again.

_**As the evening went on I noticed Hisoka staring at me, a small smile on her face, and as always she was putting something together. **_

At the end of the evening, Audrey bid Blake a good night and went off to find Hisoka.

_**She still had that look in her eyes, an all knowing look.**_

"Six…five…four…three…two…"

Audrey was perplexed as to why Hisoka was counting down.

"Ayla, wait!"

Audrey looked over her shoulder and saw Blake running through the crowd towards her. She turned when he was closer.

"I..uh…" He was a little nervous, grinning like a fool. "Can I ask for your company again?"

"Certainly." Audrey nodded, taking a small piece of parchment from her bag. She inconspicuously looked over her shoulder to see that Hisoka had vanished.

_**We carried around small parchment squares with our full stage name and contact information for references. Our mentor's usually handled all of our engagements.**_

"Thank you." He grinned, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Good night…again."

Audrey laughed as he left, she turned and found that Hisoka had reappeared.

"Come, let's go…I have things to tell you but I will wait until we get back to the castle." Hisoka extended her arm, Audrey grabbed on with her cello and bag in the other arm and they dissapparated.

It was around one in the morning when they returned to the castle, and as promised, Hisoka began to speak.

"Do you know who that was?" Hisoka beamed.

"Blake…" Audrey stopped, she realized she didn't know his last name.

"Blake Williams." said Hisoka.

_**It never ceased to amaze me how she seemed to know everything.**_

"Alright, Blake Williams, a Quidditch player from Australia." said Audrey.

"He is the star chaser for the first ranked international team, the Woollonggong Warriors, Ayla-san." Hisoka said. "And he has just requested your information which means that he plans on calling on you."

_**He hadn't mentioned any of that the entire night that we talked, I'm sure you could imagine my surprise.**_

"A star Quidditch player…call on me?" Audrey was shocked.

"I don't understand why you are so surpised, Ayla. We were at a Quidditch gala after all." Hisoka mused.

"I thought…I thought he might have been one of the managers or the coaches." Audrey was wide eyed.

"Nonsense." said Hisoka. "He is far too young to be a manager, a coach, I could understand."

"How did you know?" Audrey asked, looking at her as they made their way up the staircase.

"How did I know who he was? I have several clients that are Quidditch fanatics, I know the entire international roster." Hisoka replied.

_**Though Hisoka disguised herself as a very elderly woman when she was out with me, she was just restarting her career for the third time as an apprentice geisha in Japan and she couldn't be seen in her normal state in England. On the nights that I wasn't entertaining, she was in Japan entertaining**_.

"We are making progress, that is your first major client." Hisoka beamed, bowing to her and bidding her a good night. Audrey made her way up to Gryffindor tower, she was exhausted, shocked, and happy.

She wasn't surprised as she entered the portrait hole that all of her friends were lounging around the common room.

"Oh la la." Audrey said, walking in and noticing that James was asleep, and Lily was asleep on his chest.

"I know!" Marlene said, popping up from one of the couches. Remus and Sirius were still awake as well. Peter, Alice, and Frank were all asleep.

"How did it go, Russia?" asked Sirius, sitting up.

"Fine, thanks for asking." Audrey smiled.

"HA! YOU'RE TALKING TO ME AGAI-"

Marlene, Remus and Audrey shushed him, pointing to their sleeping friends.

"again…" Sirius said quietly, grinning.

"Yes, yes. I'm feeling nice tonight." Audrey laughed. Sirius made room for her on the couch he was sitting on and patted it.

"In a few minutes, I want to get out of this dress." Audrey replied. Sirius' eyes lit up.

"Need help?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Audrey laughed.

"No, thank you…Marly, if you don't mind?"

"Of course!" Marlene said, popping up from the couch. The two silently made their way upstairs to their dorm.

"So, judging by the wide grin on your face and the fact that you seem to have forgotten that you were giving Sirius the cold shoulder, something really good happened tonight." Marlene said, helping Audrey out of the long dress.

_**Marlene knew me all too well.**_

"Yes." Audrey replied, grinning as she threw on a teeshirt and flannel pajama pants. She waved her fingers and all of her make up vanished, then she undid her hair.

"What?" Marlene grinned back.

"The gig…it was a gala for the International Quidditch league."

"Oh my Merlin!" Marlene jumped. "Meet any sexy players so you can get rid of Sirius?"

Audrey looked at Marlene for a moment, and there was an awkward silence, then they laughed.

"Marly, there were tons of good looking players but I can't just…" Audrey shook her head.

"You like him, don't you?" Marlene replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I did, then I didn't, then I did again, then he kissed me, then I didn't what was anything anymore." Audrey replied.

"So why won't you just go out with him already?" Marlene asked.

"Because I'm not going to commit to someone when I don't know what my feelings are." Audrey said in a tone that told her friend to 'Please change the subject.'

"So, what happened at this gala that you're so giddy about?" Marlene asked.

"I have my first potential client…" Audrey grinned.

"That's wonderful!" Marlene chirped, excited. "But what do you mean by potential?" She cocked her head.

"He asked me for my information, but he hasn't formally set up anything yet." Audrey replied.

"But he asked you for your information." said Marlene, in a matter of fact tone. "Which usually means he's _going _to set something up, which means he's a client…So who is he?"

"Blake Williams."

Marlene's jaw dropped.

_**Marlene, like myself, did not know much about Quidditch. But she did know who Blake was…**_

"He's the chaser for the Woollonggong Warriors!" Marlene jumped up and down excitedly. "My brother loves their team!"

"Good, for a second I thought you actually knew something about Quidditch." Audrey snorted.

"I know nothing but of the incredibly attractive men that are on the Warriors." Marlene said, putting a hand over her heart. "You know the boys will die when they hear of this, especially James."

"I think I might just not tell them until he definitely schedules something." Audrey replied, biting her lip.

_**I didn't want Sirius to get the wrong impression…**_

Audrey and Marlene made their way back downstairs into the common room.

"Bloody hell! What took ye?" Sirius said, he was now stretched out on the couch.

"It's not as easy as it looks getting out of long dresses." said Marlene coolly, a total lie in the case of the dress Audrey wore that evening.

"If you would have just let me help you instead of McKinnon then it would have taken five seconds." Sirius purred, grabbing Audrey's hand from where he lay and kissing it. Audrey withdrew her hand quickly.

"Move."

"No, I'm quite comfortable here."

"Sirius, move."

"Why?"

"I'd like to sit down." Audrey replied in a sweet sarcastic tone. Sirius' arms shot out and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her on top of him.

"Happy now, love?" His breath tickled her face, Audrey grabbed a pillow from the floor and started hitting him. He laughed.

"I'm going to smother you if you don't let me go." Audrey threatened, holding the pillow over him.

**I knew it was an empty threat.**

In a quick motion, Sirius flipped them both over and pinned Audrey to the couch.

"You were saying?" Sirius asked, looking at the pillow that fell out of her hand and then back to her.

"Nothing." Audrey replied, he grinned, pecking her on the lips.

"And Sirius Black strikes again." Marlene gagged, Remus laughed.

"Oh shut it." Audrey said to her best friend, as she and Sirius rearranged themselves again on the couch getting comfortable.

After a few seconds, Audrey spoke again. "Say, did anyone get a photo of…?" She nodded her head in the direction of James and Lily's sleeping forms.

"Remus did." said Sirius.

"I'll develop it sometime tomorrow." Remus grinned.

"It is tomorrow, technically." Audrey smirked.

"Thanks for the obvious fact, Russia." Remus said sarcastically. Audrey threw a pillow at him.

"I've got this." Marlene said, grabbing a pillow and hitting Remus. He laughed.

After talking for another half hour or so, the four finally fell asleep.


	56. Chapter 56

Okay, I'm giving you a long chapter because I'm leaving tomorrow for University/Orientation. I'll also be switching to a different laptop so I don't know when I'll get that, hopefully Monday or Tuesday. I have to transfer a bunch of prewritten stuff for later in this story to that computer.

When will I be updating? I have no idea yet. Ideally, I'd like to update on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. I don't know my schedule yet, I'll find that out next Saturday and from there I can plan out updating. Bear with me, I'm a college freshmen and I'm going to need some time to adjust and whatnot. :] I know a lot of my readers are in University, so I'm sure you'll all understand. x3

Thanks for the reviews, Sarah Liz B (YAY AUSTRALIA!) , marycaity, javalon14, weasleytwinslover87, LizziePixie-Aiko, and JulesDragonlady! :D

Review's are kind… *wink wink nudge nudge*

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS! **

CHAPTER 56

_**During the beginning of a rather cold February, I went to the top of the clock tower during my free period and stood there for a while, staring at the land around me. Everything was blanketed in snow, all of the plants and trees were dead and bare. It was a year ago that I had looked out onto the grounds with the same numb feeling. I adored the snow of the winter season but I despised how dead everything was, it was truly haunting. The previous year, the dead trees had only made me think of my family…in the present, they made me reflect. It is truly amazing all of the things that could change in a year.**_

_**The first weekend in February I was invited to Elphias Doge's home for a small gathering of notable wizards, fortunately they were not of the notable kind that associated themselves with pure blood elitism. I found myself very comfortable there, and I was being paid to play whatever I fancied. It was rather sublime.**_

_Ayla-san,  
><em>_Meet me in my quarters as soon as possible,  
><em>_I have exciting news._

_-Hisoka._

"Got a note?" Sirius asked, looking over Audrey's shoulder. She quickly folded the small piece of parchment.

"Mentor business." Audrey replied, giving Sirius a peck on the cheek. "I'll be back in ten minutes, twenty max."

Audrey set off from the common room and down the halls in seconds, the words _'exciting news' _flashing in her head.

"Two minutes after I sent my owl." said Hisoka, opening the door with a smile. "Not bad."

"News?" Audrey asked, out of breath from sprinting all out.

"Here." Hisoka replied, handing her two rolls of parchment. Audrey unfurled it and read.

_Dear Hisoka,_

_Please see to it that your protegee receives this. I think she'd be a fabulous addition._

_- I. Martine._

_Ms. David,_

_I would like to formally invite you to join our cello section in the English Chamber Orchestra as third chair.. You require no audition as your body of work and competition has been reviewed by the board of directors. If you are unsure of your decision you are welcome to sit in on our next rehearsal this Thursday evening at 6._

_I'll be looking forward to your reply._

_Stay warm!_

_Isaac Martine, Conductor._

Audrey looked up at her mentor, grinning.

"But…how has he viewed my repertoire?" Audrey asked.

"He proposed the idea a few years ago at one of your very first competitions, he was a judge. I told him that when you made your debut he could follow us to two of your gigs. He was at the Quidditch gala a month ago, and he was at Elphias' party on Sunday."

"Will you go with me on Thursday?" Audrey asked.

"Of course, Ayla-san." Hisoka laughed. "I'll be in the shadows though."

Audrey nodded.

_**We set off early that Thursday evening and made our way into London where the ensemble usually rehearsed. I had the option of bringing my instrument with me incase I wanted to join in that night, but Hisoka told me not to. In a sense, I was grateful that she did…**_

"Ayla!" said a venomously charming voice that made Audrey's hair stand on the back of her neck.

"Angeline." Audrey replied in mock sweetness, she had noticed the girl hadn't grown much but changed slightly. She peaked out at the same height as Audrey. "So nice to see you."

"And you as well, I didn't know you were watching our rehearsal today." Angeline clapped her hands together, her evil smile plastered on her face. "Are you thinking of auditioning? I believe all the chairs are full at this time." She wore a smirk.

"Oh yes, I'll be observing." Audrey replied, airily. "Mr. Martine invited me here to hear the orchestra, he's offered me third chair."

Angeline's expression dropped, she didn't say anything but marched angrily back to the stage.

_**I have always found it rather amusing when noticing that fellow musicians care so much for chair placements. Why should a chair justify your skill or your passion? I haven't the slightest idea. But what I found most amusing was that Angeline was fourth chair…**_

_**Though it would be insufferable to sit next to her for rehearsals, I knew it made her angry that not only was I sitting next to her, I was ranked 'ahead' of her. Angeline debuted a year before I did, as she is a year older and she hadn't been at many competitions with such a busy schedule. That does not mean we did not encounter each other from time to time. I entertained more wizards than muggles which is why we never happened to run into each other at a gig.**_

_**The rehearsal was rather lovely, the ensemble sounded beautiful even with a rotten infestation such as Angeline within it. It was at the end of the rehearsal that I spoke with Mr. Martine backstage and accepted his offer. I suppose Angeline must have been within earshot for when Hisoka and I were leaving I could hear her screeching and storming like the metaphorical monster she was. **_

"_HOW DID SHE GET PAST WITHOUT AUDITIONING?" __**She screeched at her mentor and manager, Mrs. Evel. **__"SHE TOOK MY SPOT! I AM SUPPOSED TO BE THE YOUNGEST MEMBER IN HISTORY, NOT THAT SO-KA."_

_**I wasn't sure what I found funnier, that I had just broken her record or that she attempted to speak in my native tongue **__and __**pronounce an insult wrong.**_

_**I stifled my laughter and we dissapparated.**_

"That girl has always been so _charming_." Hisoka mused, sarcastic.

"She didn't even say _suka _properly." Audrey laughed.

"Don't use such language, Ayla." said Hisoka. "It's not lady-like."

Audrey decided to change the subject. "So I noticed your friend Edgar is second chair…"

Hisoka nodded. "Edgar is very gifted, make sure you are well acquainted with him. The less time you are around Angeline, the better."

_**There was another reason she wished that we would be well acquainted, she just wasn't telling me…**_

_**When I arrived back to the dormitories that evening, Omi had a small piece of parchment attached to her foot.**_

"Evening, _laaaaadies_." Audrey said in a manly drawl, that had been their recent joke in reference to James Potter and Sirius Black.

"Evening." Marlene grunted like a man.  
>"Good evening, mate." Alice imitated Frank.<br>"_Heeeeeeeyyy_." Lily imitated James Potter's signature greeting.

Everyone laughed at that.

"How was the night?" Audrey asked, sitting on the bed and untying the letter from Omi's leg. Omi hooted and then flew out the window, to the owlery.

"Certainly quiter than usual." Marlene said.

"We didn't hear the boys much at all…" said Alice. "Quite unusual."

"I'm thrilled about it, personally." said Lily, looking up from the novel she was reading.

"Well itis a full moon tonight, isn't it?" asked Audrey. She knew it was a full moon but she couldn't just tell the girls about the other boys' illegal animagus transformations.

"Yes, so Remus is in the shack." Marlene said sadly, she was worried.

"He'll be fine, Marly." said Sarah, walking into their dorm. "He's a big wolf, he can take care of himself."

"How did you even get in here without us?" Alice asked, flabbergasted.

"One of the first years let me in." Sarah shrugged. "Sleepover?"

"Of course." said Lily, pointing to the fifth vacant bed in their dorm.

_**A few months into our first school year, a fifth bed had appeared in our dorm room after we had all become friends with Sarah. Every year when we'd move up a floor, it'd be there.**_

"So how was your rehearsal-observy-thing, Audrey?" Sarah asked.

"It went really well actually, with one minor flaw…guess who my stand partner is?" Audrey said, her eyes flashing yellow for a brief second.

"_No_!" Marlene gasped in shock, her mouth full of food she had snatched for everyone from the kitchens.

Audrey nodded.

"The wicked bitch of the west?" asked Lily.

"Lily!" Marlene was appalled. "I've never heard you use such language!…that means I am definitely rubbing off on you!" She was giddy.

"Oh shut it, Marly." Lily laughed.

"It's funny you used _'bitch'_, Lils." Audrey began, raising her eyebrows.

"What for ironic purposes…or…?" asked Sarah. Audrey launched into her tale of what went down with Angeline before the rehearsal and Angeline throwing a hissy fit afterwards.

"She mispronounced _suka_." Audrey rolled her eyes.

"You should just speak to her in Russian at rehearsal. That'd be hilarious." Sarah grinned.

"No! Speak to her in Banshee." Marlene said evilly.

"I don't want to freak out the other people in the section, Marly." Audrey smirked, then she remembered the small letter in her hand she hadn't opened.

_Audrey,_

_Join me in Hogsmeade tomorrow at the Three Broomsticks?_

_Sirius._

Audrey groaned, flopping backwards onto her bed.

"Let me guess, message from Sirius?" said Sarah.

Audrey nodded, the girls laughed.

"Well, well. Get on with it, what does he want now?" Marly asked. Audrey cleared her throat and stood up on her bed.

"Audrey," She read aloud, mimicking Sirius' voice quite well. "Join me in Hogsmeade tomorrow at the Three Broomsticks? Sirius."

The girls laughed, Audrey twisted her fingers delicately and the parchment was hovering. Then it burst into flames.

_**I didn't mean it as a rude gesture, but I genuinely thought that this was going to be one of Sirius' rather elaborate ruses. After all, he had done something similar to me during our third year. I came back from Hogsmeade with purple slime all over me…**_

**That was one of the rare times that one of my pranks had actually come back to bite me in the ass.**

_**A few days later, Hisoka received an owl from Blake requesting that I accompany him to a Valentine's day event early in the afternoon.**_

"It is certainly interesting…" Hisoka said, looking at the letter and putting something together. "The courting requests usually don't come until a few months in, but he did ask you to play for him before the event for an hour."

Audrey shrugged.

_**When you are very new to this profession, as I was, there are a lot of minute rules that you don't know about. The courting rule, as I had learned was when a client just asked for your company and nothing further. Hisoka was beyond that stage with some of her clientele, she didn't even have to play for them anymore and they still paid her. But if she wished to play for them, she would. It was rather bizarre.**_

_**The only issue with this was that Valentine's day fell on a Thursday that year and I had class, Hisoka had somehow managed to get me excused and we traveled via portkey to Blake's home in Cape Jervis.**_

_**Magic never ceases to amaze me. You could be in the bitter cold winter in England and go into the warm sunny summer of South Australia. Of course, for the great change in climate and season I had to dress in more favorable attire. A strapless red dress with a long slit down the right leg.**_

_**There were always little things you could do for a client that were what I like to refer as teasers or trademarks. Mine happened to be something my mother passed on to me. Banshees have a tendency to craft things out of random objects, my mother found out I could do this in our meadow one summer morning. I don't really recall it, she's just told me the story quite a few times. I came to her with a broken twig, she blinked and it turned into three blood red flowers. While every banshee creates something different, it's a hereditary thing. My mother's flowers were red, my Maimeó's flowers were red, her mother's, and so on. The only thing that was different was the patterns that the veins formed. Mine were rather intricate circles, and were seen quite clearly due to the veins being uncharacteristically dark. They were a bit temperamental you see, sometimes they rapidly closed and rebloomed whenever they felt like it. Over a year prior, I had made an arrangement of these flowers into a heart from some branches and gave it to Karl. I always wondered if he kept it...the flowers don't die until the creator does.**_

_**For every client I had in years to come, I would make them something different. **_

_**For Blake, I made him a simple sphere of flowers.**_

"Happy Valentine's Day." Audrey gave him a smile.

"These are lovely." Blake grinned, flicking his wand and the sphere set off onto a mantel. "But you're lovelier…Come in."

Audrey said a quick thanks and set up her cello.

_**The hour only lasted minutes to me and before I knew it we were apparating to Daniel Jones' home, he was one of Blake's team mates. **_

_**Years after Blake's party, I was at a similar engagement with Iris. When we were in the powder room, I remember her saying "I always feel like an animal on display at these parties."**_

_**There are no other words to describe what these engagements are like. Everyone looks at you, it's as if they know you're hiding something even though they don't.**_

_**Though the party was still great fun.**_

_**Returning to England though was a bit of a bother, the times are quite far apart, and it was late into the evening by the time we returned to the school.**_

Audrey walked into the Gryffindor common room, carrying her cello and her heels. It was deserted, the fire was just dying out.

"Alright, love?" murmured a sleepy voice.

"Sirius, why are you still down here?" Audrey asked. "You should go to bed."

**I was actually planning on laying out on the couch naked but I decided against it at the last moment. I didn't want her to kill me, after all.**

"I was waiting for you." He replied, sitting up and stretching. "Happy Valentine's Day." He grinned.

"It's technically the fifteenth already, but alright." Audrey replied, kissing him on the lips. He wanted more but she pushed him away, resisting the temptation.

"You need to go to bed, we have class tomorrow."

"Yes, _mum_." Sirius replied sarcastically, blowing her a kiss.

"You shouldn't call me mum, then it gives Marlene more incentive to make pure blood incest jokes." Audrey said, half serious, half joking.

"You're right." Sirius murmured. "Good night, Audrey."


	57. Chapter 57

Happy New Year! :D

I'm back! Thanks to everyone for being so understanding and such.

…As for that guy, well yeah, he was worth it…but we broke it off almost a month ago... Things were complicated. :/ I've been working on regaining my momentum, I had a bit of writers block and just being really bummed out with the whole break up. I had a break through yesterday, so hopefully, I can finally get this off the ground and moving forward. Apologies for the rustiness.

We're transitioning! :D

Reviews are always appreciated and nice. ;)

CHAPTER 57

_**The months began to fly by in what seemed like seconds, I found myself being so happy with life that I wasn't honestly keeping track of the days. Between entertaining Blake and various patrons in the United Kingdom, school, and Sirius the year went by in a blur. I found myself staring out the window in Gryffindor tower and came to the realization that it was June.**_

…_**And that someone had been pelting pieces of parchment at me.**_

Audrey broke from her trance, her eyes turned yellow as she caught a balled up piece of parchment that nearly hit her face. Her head snapped in the direction where the parchment came from.

Sirius Black stood in the doorway of the empty fifth floor girl's dormitory, looking at her with his head cocked.

Audrey raised an eyebrow, her eyes still yellow.

He smirked.

_**Oh, I melted when he did that.**_

"Yes?" She asked, the color leaving her eyes. He was about to speak when she spoke again.

"…And how the bloody hell did you get up _here_?"

"Magic!" Sirius said, wiggling his fingers. "We need to get going soon, the train leaves in an hour." Sirius said, looking around the empty dormitory. He always felt a tiny twinge of sadness seeing the emptiness at the end of term, but they would be back soon.

"Oh, right." Audrey said, popping up and walking towards her bed. "Where's…"

"The elves already took the baggage down and everything." Sirius cut in, amused that his girlfriend was so distracted that she hadn't noticed everything was gone. Then again, he was also amused that he had gotten way with throwing parchment at her for five minutes.

"Wow…alright then." Audrey said, noticing that the elves had even taken her cello down as well. She gracefully jumped from the windowsill and circled Sirius for a moment. He wore a wolfish grin, knowing what to expect.

He grabbed her arm to stop her and pulled her closer, she gave him a small smile. Sirius leaned in…

_Smack_.

Audrey giggled and sprinted from the room. Sirius let out a tiny growl and followed her, a grin plastered on his face. She ran down the stairs and through the common room, past James and Remus and through the portrait hole. Sirius followed, James laughed.

"I don't think that will ever change." Remus shook his head, taking one final look at the common room before the two exited for the summer.

"Can you believe our fifth year is over?" Lily asked, as they made their way into the compartment. It was rather crowded for the Marauders had decided to squeeze in with the girls.

Audrey groaned as Sirius squeezed himself between her and Marlene.

"What?" Sirius was incredulous; he gave her a cute puppy face. "I'm your boyfriend, can't I sit next to you?"

"_No_." Audrey and Marlene said together in a flat voice.

Sirius frowned for a moment, then grinned, wrapping his arms tightly around his girlfriend. "Well, too bad then."

Audrey let out a fake sigh of annoyance and shoved Sirius' head away from her as he tried to kiss her.

"Oh will you two quit it!" Lily laughed.

"Yeah, mate. Audrey obviously doesn't want to taste your _dog_ breath." James chimed in.

Sirius shot James a look of annoyance, and then the two burst out laughing.

"There are so many things I could say right now, _Prongs_." Sirius narrowed his eyes and smirked at his best friend. They both glanced at Lily for a moment.

"And you _won't_. Because you're a _good_ best friend, aren't you, Pads?" James raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose…" Sirius replied, looking out the window for a moment. His head snapped in Lily's direction and he was about to open his mouth when Audrey covered it, saving James.

Lily noticed nothing. James silently mouthed a _'Thank you'_ to Audrey. She nodded.

As the ride went on, the group discussed their usual plans. In that time, Audrey had found herself on Sirius' lap without realizing it. She looked down at him.

He rested his chin on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, barely audible.

"I'm quite _smooth_, you know."

This sent a small shiver through Audrey; he let out a breathy chuckle. She elbowed him.

"Oh _Russia_, always so rebellious." Sirius cooed in her ear, stroking her arm. She shook her head.

_**He was getting to me, and I had always sworn to myself that I would never let Sirius Black get to me.**_

**I honestly don't see why that's such a bad thing, I mean, **_**I'd**_** let me get to me.**

James was the only one who noticed the little moment before the two of them and cleared his throat.

"I've got an announcement!"

"Are you proposing to Lily?" Sarah asked, sticking her head up from her book.

_**Fortunately, Lily hadn't heard that either…**_

James shot her a grin, and shook his head. "No, my parents are going away for a week and I'm going to have the house all to myself…"

James had expected everyone to pick up on his little cue, but only Sirius seemed to get it. He wore a wolfish grin, pulling Audrey closer to his chest in excitement.

"So, you two, are you coming to the party?" James wore a smirk that said '_I saw everything.'_

"Of course I'll be there, mate! I'll be so close to you, I don't see why not." Sirius grinned.

"Oh, right. You'll be next door." James laughed and the two high fived.

"And you're sure you're not gay for each other?" Marlene raised an eyebrow.

The boys' expressions flattened and before either could speak, Audrey said.

"Why, of course they're gay for each other, Marly. We've only know that since our first day at Hogwarts." Audrey smirked. Sirius let out a low growl, tightened his grip around her waist and she laughed.

"Oh, look, Audrey. We've threatened his manhood!" Marlene sneered. Audrey laughed.

"Enough of your shenanigans!" James called. "So are you lot in, or not?"

"It depends when it is, I'm going to be doing some work over the summer…" Audrey said thoughtfully.

_**Hisoka was allowing me a lengthy break over the summer holidays, for she would entertaining some of her clients and wouldn't have time to mentor me. I wasn't too upset, it had been a busy year and I wanted the time to just relax.**_

"The first week in July." James answered, grinning gleefully.

"So, we go to our homes for about a week and a half, then we show up at your place?" Sarah asked.

"That's the plan, Puffer." James grinned.

"WHEE!" Sarah squealed. Audrey laughed, loving how exciting she was.

"I'm in." Sirius grinned.  
>"I knew that already, mate." James grinned, high fiving his best friend.<p>

"I'm in as well." Remus looked up from his Daily Prophet, smiling.  
>"If he's in, I'm in." Marlene pointed at Remus, the two exchanged a grin.<p>

"I'm in." Peter squeaked.

"I'll go!" Sarah smiled.

Everyone now looked at Lily and Audrey, Sirius and James stood up, looking at them. The four of them locked eyes, and no one blinked.

"We could be here all night…" Marlene whispered to Remus, he nodded.

Audrey broke first, Sirius was boring into her and she couldn't resist.

"Okay, okay. I'll go. I just need to make sure of my studio schedule for the summer, I'm sure I could get a week off." Audrey said, holding her hands up in surrender. Sirius scooped her up off the seat and kissed her repeatedly.

Marlene looked at Remus and snorted. "Love birds."

"Who needs them?" Remus asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and going back to reading.


	58. Chapter 58

A smaller chapter...more to come!

Reeeeview? :D

CHAPTER 58

_**Platform 9 ¾ was packed, as always. I wasn't sure who I was looking for. When I was a little girl, I would always look for my grandfather at the train station at the end of the school year. But after that Christmas, everything had changed…my father had come to the station last year, only out of necessity. After all, my mother could not be seen in public, especially now.**_

As I looked around the station that day, I couldn't find my father… A fresh wave of panic came over me. What if something had happened?

__"Looking for someone?" said a silky voice from behind her. Audrey knew that voice well.

"CHANTAL!" Audrey squealed, turning around and hugging her friend tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I just got in from Beauxbatons last night, and Teagan and I thought we'd surprise you." She grinned, her platinum blonde hair gleaming in the sunlight.

"Wait, Teagan's here? Where?" Audrey looked around.

"She's not green." Chantal whispered. "I had to put some make up on her…you know why."

A bleach white girl with long, long, black hair came skipping over to them.

"Teagan?"

"No, my name is Terra." The girl with Teagan's voice replied. Audrey laughed.

"I cannot believe this." She said, taking Teagan's arm and having her spin around so Audrey could get a better look.  
><em><strong><br>Teagan reminded me of a geisha, the make up that she wore was incredibly convincing.**_

Sirius and James sauntered over to where Audrey stood.

"Is that _Frenchie?"_ James cooed, Chantal turned and laughed, hugging James.

After greetings were exchanged, Sirius grabbed Audrey's hand and led her to a corner of the station, out of earshot from their friends. He hugged her tightly to his chest.

"What's wrong?" Audrey murmured, stroking his arm.  
>"I'm not going to see you for a while." He pouted.<p>

Audrey looked up at him. "It'll be just over a week!"

"That's a long time." Sirius whined.

"You're such a wimp, Sirius Black." Audrey snorted.

"And you won't miss me?" Sirius said, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"I will." Audrey said, kissing him on the cheek. "But I'll miss you more if I don't see you after James'."

"Why did you bring that up?" Sirius whined, fake fainting. Audrey laughed.

"The week will go by before you know it, and we'll both be at James'." Audrey poked his nose. Sirius grabbed her head, kissed her forehead, her nose, and then her lips.

_**I always went into a bit of a daze when I kissed him…**_

_Crunch. Crunch._

James had taken the Daily Prophet from Remus and was throwing pieces of paper

Sirius broke away from Audrey, a look of mock anger on his face. "OI! TRYING TO HAVE SOME PRIVATE TIME HERE."

"SAVE IT FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS FROM NOW." James shouted back, grinning.

"Fine." Sirius grumbled at his best friend, planting a final peck on Audrey's lips before Teagan and Chantal linked arms with her and they walked off the platform.

"Relax, mate. You'll get her all to yourself when she comes over." James said, as they searched the Platform for Henry Potter.

"Oooh, does that mean what I think it means?" Sirius' head jerked up, looking at his friend with a wolfish grin.

"Yes…seeing as the parents won't be around…" James began.

"THANK YOU!" Sirius said, shaking his friend.

"But." James said shortly, giving his friend a look.  
>"Ugh, there's a downside…" Sirius groaned, knowing that look well.<p>

"Only if Audrey consents to it, if not, she's getting her own room" James said sternly.

**Oh, Prongs was such a dad sometimes.**

"Does he not realize that the three of us can hear everything they're saying?" Teagan asked, looking over her shoulder. They were still in the station and James and Sirius were nowhere in sight but they could all hear them.

"Humans." Chantal whispered, snorting. The other two laughed.

_**Of course, nothing had changed since September. My father had been a little happier to see me when I came through the door of our familiar cottage. I'm not saying that he wasn't previously, but after the incident in Russia, he had never been the same. None of us were the same.**_  
><em><strong><br>My father still had a lot of work that summer, he was still occupying himself, trying to forget. My mother went on as. she always did, teaching in different colonies over the summer.**_

I spent the next week and a half in the dance studio with Chantal and Teagan, around our home with my mother, or going out to some odd jobs with my father. Though he was very selective about where I could be seen. It was only when he did work for vampires, werewolves, and other prominent yet hidden creatures that I was allowed to come and help.

_**The time flew, and before I knew it, I was packing for James' house.**_

_Clang_.

Audrey froze, listening down stairs; she heard a hiss escape from her mother.


	59. Chapter 59

I meant to publish this two days ago, but I just kept writing and things got in the way. This is a fairly long chapter, working on the next now. :)

Thanks for the reviews, Pupluver43, Marycaity, javalon14, Weasleytwinslover87, and LizziePixie-Aiko! :D

So...reviews...they're nice. ;]  
><strong><br>DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 59

Garbled noise came from downstairs; Audrey inched silently down the hallway and towards the landing, listening carefully. There were voices, and then there was her mother's voice, clear and vicious.

_**The voices spoke a language that seemed foreign to me, for I hadn't spoken it in so long…**_

"_Gde ona?"_ said a rough voice.

_**"Where is she?"**_

___"She is not here." _Airleas spoke, her voice sounding gravelly. A rare thing.

"_You lie." _Said another.

_"I. do. not. lie." _Airleas was venomous. Audrey heard a very faint wooshing sound and looked into her room. Her packed trunk was gone, and so was her cello.

_**She was going to try to send me away…but I wasn't leaving until they did…**_

_BANG_.

Audrey was getting nervous; she snuck back into her room, grabbed a small piece of parchment from her desk and scribbled a quick note.

_James,_

_There's a problem at the cottage; I'm going to be late. If I don't show up by nightfall, write to the Headmaster._

_Audrey_

__

She made her way towards the window with caution and looked outside, no one. Her owl, Omi sat on her perch looking at her with a curious look. She quickly tied the note to her leg and sent her out the window saying "Find James!"

There were more bangs coming from downstairs. Audrey was about to sprint downstairs when a green light appeared at the end of the hallway, right near the landing. Airleas had placed a shielding charm, and Audrey couldn't break through it.

"_I will ask you one more time, where is the girl?"_ said the rough voice.  
><em>"She is not here."<em> Airleas growled. _"Leave my home."_  
><em><br>"LIAR."__**  
><strong>__"Filthy half breed." _Snarled another._  
><em>_**  
>It was the first time that I did not hear my mother fighting back. I wasn't sure of how many of them there were, but she would always fight back. What was stopping her?<strong>_

__Airleas started to speak in her native tongue, something the men wouldn't understand.

___"Audrey, go get your father and run."_

The men spoke rapidly to each other, confused._**  
><strong>_

_**My stomach twisted in terrible knots, and I made my way to the nearest window.**_

__Audrey didn't waste her time summoning a rock; she flew down on a gust of air and headed for the forest that surrounded the cottage. Her father had gone through the woods earlier that morning on his way to a job for their neighbors.

Though she ran faster than normal, Audrey felt as though going through the woods took forever. She reached a familiar clearing that her father used to take her to as a child.

She stood in the middle for a moment, listening for anything.

_THUD_…_thud_…_THUD_…

Audrey followed the sound of thudding stone, over a hill. At the bottom, she saw a white shirt and the salt and pepper hair she knew well.

"_PAPA! PAPA! __Pomoshch!"_

Isaac turned around to see Audrey hurtling down the hill. His eyes widened with concern.

"_What is it, my Audrina?"  
>"Papa, there are men at the house…men from home…threatening mama."<em>

Isaac's eyes turned from red to black quickly. His features hardened, he looked down at his daughter.

"_Audrina, fly to the Potter boy's."_

Audrey tensed, she didn't want to leave. She was afraid.

"_But Papa…"_

"_Go." _Isaac said, about to sprint back to the cottage but Audrey stayed rooted on the ground. He sensed her fear, he knew it well.

"_We will be fine, Audrina. I will show myself to you to prove it after this is all over."_

"_I love you, Papa."  
><em>_"I love you too, child. Now go."_

Audrey hesitated, but then obeyed her father's wishes and summoned a rock. She flew faster than ever to James'.

_**My eyes were blurring with tears, I was so anxious that I was losing focus. The rock would start shaking and there were a few instances where I had nearly fallen out of the sky.**_

A small wave of relief washed over Audrey as she saw the Potter's yard in the distance, and four figures on brooms playing Quidditch. The Marauders hadn't seen her yet.

Audrey felt dizzy and anxious, the rock began to wobble and she had just made it into the Potter's yard.

"RUSSIA!" James roared excitedly, landing first. "You're here! And it's _way _before sundown."

"Yeah, Audrey. What was that note all about?" squeaked Peter.

Remus landed next, noticing that Audrey looked off and frantic. It had taken his other two friends a few seconds to register.

Sirius' feet had barely touched the ground before Audrey had flung herself onto him, hugging him tightly and shaking.

**Of course, I had seen her flying into the yard and I was beyond excited to see her. But something felt terribly wrong.**

He was appalled; he had rarely seen her like this. The last time he had was that Christmas.

Sirius lifted her chin and looked at her, tears were pouring out of her rapidly changing eyes and her lip was quivering.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly, watching her eyes change colors.

"These men…barged into my home…they were t-t-threatening my mother…looking for m-me…" Audrey said, trying to stop herself from shaking. "She wouldn't…let me come down….to help…she put up a shield…and told me to get my father…then they sent me away."

Sirius picked her up with a quick swipe and brought her inside, he sat down on one of the sofas in the living room and held Audrey close. She buried her head in his neck, not wanting to think about anything that was happening.

"Did your father say anything about letting you know if they were alright?" Sirius murmured, running his hand through her hair. Audrey nodded, not lifting her head.

"He said he would show himself to prove that they were alright."

"Then we'll wait until he shows himself." Sirius replied softly, kissing her temple.

_**I was a little surprised by Sirius' behavior; it's not that I thought he **__wasn't__** capable of being serious and calm. It's just that it was such a rare thing, he always had a grin on his face and he was always up to something. I was grateful though; he didn't leave my side the entire time we waited.**_

__It was nearing nightfall, and Sirius could tell Audrey was becoming more worried by the hour. She didn't say anything the entire time, and just rested her head on Sirius' shoulder.

James, Remus, and Peter had fluttered in and out of the room all day. James made attempts at cheering Audrey up by pranking Peter, Remus read the newspaper, and from time to time would try to reassure Audrey.

It was very late in the evening when there was a knock at the Potter's door. Audrey swallowed, nervous.

_**There were so many possibilities of what could be on the other side of the door…**_

Sirius stiffened, on his guard. He had his wand ready. He watched as his girlfriend crept towards the door, his inner dog getting ready to attack.

Audrey opened the door cautiously, looking outside. Isaac stood on the porch, staring at his daughter. Sirius felt relieved, but Audrey bared sharp teeth, skeptical.

Isaac realized why and let his eyes flash yellow. Audrey softened instantly and ran to hug her father.

**They cannot be impersonated, the Dalio family. Well…they can, but the one thing that would give the imposter away was their eyes. The colors that are produced and flashed by them cannot be duplicated by magic or potion. Audrey had been smart to think that there was a possibility that the man standing on James' porch was an imposter. I hadn't thought of that, even though I was right.**

"_What happened? Where's mama? Is she okay? Are you okay?" _Audrey was frantic.

"Part of Vladimir's many idiots." Isaac spoke in English, to include Sirius. Audrey forgot that Sirius didn't speak Russian sometimes, she normally would find that amusing but she was exhausted.

"Is Mrs. Dalio alright, sir?" Sirius asked, popping out from behind Audrey.

"She is fine, a few scratches. But as always, she handled herself quite well. Thank you for asking, Sirius." Isaac replied.

Sirius nodded.

"I'm going back." Isaac said to his daughter, kissing her forehead. "Albus is at the cabin, he wants to talk to your mother and I. Spokoĭnoĭ nochi."

"Good night, Papa." Audrey replied, and with that he began to walk down the pathway leading out of the Potter's estate. No one could apparate in and out except for Henry and Elly.

Relief flooded over Audrey, though she didn't feel that she was in the clear just yet. She and Sirius made their way up the dark staircase to the bedrooms.

She headed to her usual guest bedroom at the end of the hallway to get her pajamas and get ready for bed. She was the only girl at the house that night; Marlene would be arriving in the morning with Sarah, and Lily sometime afterwards. As she was sifting through her trunk, she heard a floorboard creak. Sirius stood in the doorway in his boxers, with his toothbrush in his mouth.

_**How he managed to smirk when he looked so ridiculous was beyond me…**_

**I'm Sirius Black, that's how.**

Audrey giggled, and he continued to brush his teeth. "Did you want something, Mr. Black?" Audrey asked, her pajamas in one hand, the other resting on her hip. Sirius' eyebrows made a suggestive movement, but Audrey played dumb. She raised a brow, cocking her head to the side, and smirked. Sirius rolled his eyes, held up an arm that said to wait. He walked out of the room, into the nearby bathroom, spit, and came back. "Are you sleeping with me, love?" He grinned, leaning up against the doorframe. Audrey studied him, her eyes traveling from his arms to his chest.

"Like what you see?" He smirked.  
>"Nope." Audrey said, popping the p.<p>

**_I lied…_**

**Of course she did.**

"Oh, really?" Sirius replied, skeptical.  
>"Really." Audrey said evenly. She turned back to her trunk and went to grab her toothbrush. Sirius had silently sauntered up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Audrey looked at him, he grinned, kissing her cheek. She smiled, shoving him off of her with a light gust of wind.<p>

"I'll be right back." She said, looking over her shoulder, and going into the bathroom.

"It's not like you really need to change, love. Clothes aren't _necessary_ for bed." Sirius called from outside the bathroom door. Audrey opened the door quickly, she had already changed and her hair was up in a messy bun.

She threw a bar of soap at Sirius' head. He caught it just in time. "What was _that _for?"

"To wash away your dirty thoughts." Audrey said triumphantly, closing and locking the door once more. Sirius smirked to himself, shaking his head. Audrey opened the door again when she was finished washing up for the night and headed back to her room to put her things away.

"You know I'll never be able to get rid of my dirty thoughts, right?" Sirius said, as Audrey turned around to face him.

"You never know, Sirius." She poked his nose. He smiled, kissing her.

"Me thinks the lady should join me in bed." Sirius whispered in her ear. "Oh really?" Audrey smirked, raising an eyebrow.

**She was always such a bloody tease.**

"Really." Sirius replied, scooping her up and carrying her out of the room. He held Audrey with ease, and made his way to the other side of the hallway where his bedroom was. He tossed her onto the bed and she laughed.

"I didn't consent to this." Audrey said, propping herself up on her elbows. Sirius gave her a skeptical look and said.

"Really, love? Because your eyes gave you away."

Audrey cocked her head in a questioning way and let her eyes turn yellow. Sirius laughed.

"Not like that!" He said, flopping down next to her. She rested her head on his chest.

"I knew you were waiting to do that." Sirius said cockily, Audrey hit him with a pillow and turned over on her side.

"Come back!" Sirius whined, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling. She clung to the bedpost for a few seconds, looked at Sirius, giggled then let go, snuggling into him.

After a few moments of silence, Audrey spoke. "Thanks for staying with me today, you didn't have to." She wrung her hands for a minute then quickly stopped, remembering how Hisoka would get angry with her because it wasn't good for her hands.

Sirius popped his head over her shoulder, looking down at her, frowning. "Well, of course I _had _to. I wasn't going to let you wait and worry by yourself. I wanted to be there for you whether the news was good or bad."

"I just feel bad that I wasted your day for a false alarm."

"It wasn't a waste." Sirius said, stroking her arm. "I just want to be there to protect you, Audrey. You seem so opposed to that sometimes." He was thoughtful.

Audrey turned around to face him. "It's not that I'm opposed to it. I'm just scared."

Sirius kissed her forehead. "There's no reason to be scared."

"Too many people have been hurt because of me." Audrey said quietly, blinking back some tears.

"I would take the worst possible pain if it meant you were safe." Sirius whispered into her hair, pulling her closer.

"N-n-no." Audrey stammered. "I couldn't let that happen to you."

"It's not going to." Sirius said with confidence. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"I promise."


	60. Chapter 60

Hello! I am back from school until September 1st (that's when the lease starts on my apartment. Totally appropriate for going back to Hogwarts. ;D)

I'm SO SORRY it's been so long, I know a lot of you are also at University so I'm sure you'll all understand. I'm still making a few decisions on the next few chapters and where I'm going with this, etc. I'm also working more on the deleted scenes. I need to refresh my mind a bit…I may be a bit rusty.

Thanks for the reviews, Weasleytwinslover87, javalon14, LizziePixie-Aiko, marycaity, MissLunaLovegood1999, Vivi Fontaine, Masterofbugs123, JulesDragonlady, angeldog14, and thewrittenword87! :]

Reviews are lovely! ;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 60

"RISE AND SHINE!" yelled James Potter, running into Sirius' room and jumping on the bed.

Sirius shot up, grabbing James' legs and pulling him down. He put a finger to his lips and pointed to Audrey who was somehow still asleep.

James' mouth formed a perfect O; Sirius shut it for him, giving him a small grin. James assessed the situation and then mouthed.

"Did you…?"

Sirius shook his head, giving his friend a shocked look.

"What?" James whispered. "You're…_you_."

"I'm not going to unless _she_ wants to." Sirius said evenly, giving his friend a look that said _'Don't push it.'  
><em>  
>"Sorry." James whispered, holding up his hands in surrender. "I just assumed, and that was wrong. I apologize, Pads."<p>

Sirius nodded. "It's fine, Prongs. You know it's hard for me to get mad at you."

James blew him a kiss, and Remus walked in, giving them a weird look.

"I _knew_ you two were lovers." Remus joked, grinning.

"Got the Prophet, I see." James retorted.

"What else is new?" Sirius whispered, throwing his hands in the air. Audrey stirred.

"I'm surprised she's still asleep." Said James. "Doesn't she have super-sonic hearing or something ridiculous like that?"

"No, James. She just has better hearing than a human, like I do." Remus replied.

"Oh." said James. "So basically, she has super sonic hearing."

Audrey lifted her head finally, looking a little annoyed.

"We can never get any alone time, can we?" She said, sitting up.

James and Remus grinned.

"Not with us around." Said Peter, scampering into the room.

"Good morning, Peter." Audrey said.

"Wait, how come you said good morning to him and not me?" said James, incredulous.

"Good morning, Remus." Audrey said, ignoring James and turning to Remus.

"Good morning, Audrey." Remus replied, giving her a nod.

Audrey turned to Sirius, whispered good morning and gave him a long kiss on the lips. Sirius grinned.

James tapped his foot in mock annoyance. Audrey laughed and shouted.

"GOOD MORNING, JAMES!"

James puffed up in anger and stormed out of the room, he then roared from down the hallway.

"GOOD MORNING, RUSSIA."

Audrey burst into laughter, and Sirius kicked Remus and Peter out of the room.

"Why'd you do that?" Audrey cocked her head.

"Because I wanted to go back to sleep, it's eight." Sirius whined, flopping down on the bed and pulling Audrey down to him.

"Sirius…" Audrey whined, pushing him away, but he clung tighter. She laughed.

"You like it." Sirius kissed her temple.

"I don't think I can sleep any longer, plus Marly will be here soon." Audrey said, sitting up and brushing herself off.

"Oooh, I see how it is." Sirius said sarcastically. "Ditch the boyfriend for the best friend. You know, Remus won't be too happy about this either."

"Why, because Marly and I make a better couple than you and James, or you and Remus?" Audrey said, standing in the doorway raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you're both certainly better looking." He winked, Audrey laughed shaking her head and went downstairs to get breakfast.

**Of course, I knew when Marlene McKinnon arrived at these parties. Audrey would go sprinting to her and tackle her to the ground, hugging her. This was a normal thing, they greeted each other better than James and I would, but then again, James and I were seldom apart.**

Sirius came downstairs a few minutes after the noise of Audrey and Marlene's reunion to see that Audrey was in Marlene's arms.

"Are you two tying the knot?" Sirius asked, putting a shirt on as he walked down the stairs.

"Yes, Sirius. Because I'm more of a man than you are." Marlene said in a mock-gruff voice.

"What about me?" said a familiar, casual voice. Remus had appeared behind Marlene and she dropped Audrey to attack him with kisses.

Sirius extended a hand to Audrey and helped her off the floor.

"My woman left me." Audrey exclaimed, shocked.

"That's what happens when she has a hot werewolf boyfriend." said James, walking by. Audrey burst out laughing.

The rest of the day was filled with arrivals and shenanigans. The girls had locked themselves away in Marlene's room to talk for a while, the boys grew bored waiting.

"I notice Sirius is tame." Marlene cooed. Audrey gave her friend a strange look.

"She's right." piped in Sarah. "He hasn't insulted Marlene or Lily at all."

"…Yet." Lily added, skeptical of Sirius changing. Audrey nodded, in accord with the redhead.

"He hasn't changed." Audrey chimed in.

"He's just keeping his mouth shut because he fancies her." said Sarah, nodding her head at Audrey.

Audrey was about to fight back but her friends gave her looks that said otherwise.

"Well, I think it's just because of recent events. I suppose…" Audrey said, in thought. She then went on to explain what had happened in her home the previous day.

Her friends paled upon hearing about Vladimir's men.

"They came after you." Lily was frightened. "Audrey, you can't keep performing, someone is going to figure you out."

Audrey stared out the big bay windows of Marlene's room, a storm was brewing.

What if Lily was right?

Later that evening, Audrey lay in her bed, wide-awake, staring at the wall…

_**What Lily had said earlier had really struck a nerve, what if they found me? What if they found my parents? They had already taken down my entire family…who's to say it wouldn't happen again. I am sure that at the time my father knew the risks and circumstances, which made me further question why he hadn't forbade me from entering this world of mirrors, deceit, and disguise.**_

_**Yet…there was a pulling voice inside of me saying "Defy the odds." This had been my dream since I was a small girl.**_

_**But were the repercussions worth it?**_

_**I question this constantly now. At the time, I thought it was worth it. But I was such a naïve fool!**_

_Creak_.

Someone was awake. Audrey assumed it was Peter, probably heading to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Audrey jumped when an arm snaked around her side. There was a breathy chuckle that followed.

"Relax, Audrey. It's just me." whispered Sirius, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Why is it that I always find you in my bedroom, Sirius Black?" She asked, not turning around.

"Because we're meant to be in a bedroom together, love." Sirius growled, slipping under the covers next to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into him.

She snorted.

**I may have always been found in her room someway or another, but it always seemed that we had the best conversations at night, lying in bed.**

Audrey turned to face him, giving him a small smile.

"I thought you were asleep." He said apologetically. "I didn't want to knock and wake you."

"That's sweet." Audrey smiled, poking his nose.

"But I do have to ask, why are you awake at this hour?" Sirius cooed, pulling her closer.

"I don't know." Audrey replied, looking out the window and noticing the lightening and hearing thunder in the distance. "But it's going to rain…"

"Don't. change. the. subject." Sirius said, between planting kisses all over her. She laughed.

"I don't know why I'm awake, I was just thinking about things I suppose." Audrey said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Russia." Sirius began, Audrey gave him a look. She didn't mind her nickname, but Sirius was her boyfriend. She expected him to address her by her actual name.

"Audrey." Sirius corrected, giving her a small smile.

**I always liked making her angry.**

"There's no need to think or worry right now, it's the summer holidays." Sirius said soothingly.

"I know, I think my mind is just other places."

"Like home?" Sirius asked, Audrey was surprised at how well he could now read her. She always prided herself on Sirius' inability to know her thoughts.

"Home, St. Petersburg…_da_." Audrey said softly, Sirius stroked her hair. Not saying anything.

_**He somehow knew I was going to spill.**_

"I'm just scared, I guess. Those men could have killed my mother, all because of me. My family was killed because of me; my parents are constantly in danger because of me. Soon, my friends will be in danger because of me, you will be in danger because of me. And I don't want anyone else to get hurt, I don't want any of you to die." Audrey bit her lip, blinking back tears.

"Hey." Sirius whispered, pulling her closer. "No one is going to die, everything will be fine, Audrey."

_**How could he say such a thing? It was inevitable.**_

**Because sometimes we have to lie to ourselves just to fall asleep at night.**_**  
><strong>_


	61. Chapter 61

Well, I feel very welcomed! Thanks for the reviews, 112233, Marycaity, Weasleytwinslover87, thewrittenword87, LizziePixie-Aiko (Wooo, good luck with the boy. ;]) and Javalon14 (Answering your question, yes, as long as you quote me!)

We're moving along, people! Transitions, transitions, transitions!

Hey, do you like chocolate? Yes? Then you should review! ;D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 61

_**As the summer progressed, I found myself in the studio for the majority of my time. It seemed that my mother wanted me out of the house as much as possible after the incident. If I was ever home, I was practicing, that was all summer was. It was therapeutic in a way, for all I saw when I slept were visions of the past that I did not want to relive. Visions of the palace I once called home during my summers, and the people that I associated with it.**_

_**I did not speak of it. I was never one to openly discuss my problems.**_

"I am _so_ bored." Teagan puffed, lying on the wood floor of Darcy's studio.

"We just had a four hour class, and another four hours practice. How are you _bored_?" asked Lena, another banshee at their studio. She was getting ready to leave.

"It's not that." Audrey jumped in. "It's just this whole routine. This whole thing is getting so mundane. We've been doing this for a straight month"

"But none of us can leave." said Teagan sadly. "You know how our parents are, especially now."

_**The invasion of our home was not the only occurrence in our community. Everything was becoming weird for creatures. There were more and more stories of men coming in, threatening our families, trying to persuade them to join their cause. Little violence had occurred, and no deaths, but things were getting worse.**_

_**Our parents, they did not speak of it. They kept us in the dark, but we knew. Not only from what we had experienced within our community, but from each other's encounters, and stories from the studio.**_

_**The last half of 1975 was rather tense, and it was just the beginning of it all…**_

Audrey, Chantal, and Teagan sat in a circle in the middle of the floor. All three of them were looking around, playing with their hands, or doing something else.

"I have an idea!" Chantal shot up from the floor, startling her friends. They looked at her, listening.

"We can't go anywhere without some sort of parental supervision of some sort." Chantal started.

"Don't remind us." Audrey snorted, they were sixteen years old, nearly legal adults!

"Well, I have a loophole." Chantal said triumphantly. "France."

"The entire country of France is not a loophole, blondie." Teagan rolled her eyes.

"I'm aware, Teag!" Chantal said exasperated. "My father lives in France, and we can easily have a free run there! We could go incognito, explore the streets of Montpellier. Sit by the water…I think we just need a change of scenery."

"It's worth a shot." Audrey shrugged. "The only people we have to convince are our parents though."

Audrey knew convincing Isaac and Airleas was going to be difficult, especially seeing as Airleas wasn't there. She was teaching in a colony on the other side of the country.

"Chantal, your mum is going to be the easiest to convince, seeing as it's your father and all." Teagan said evenly, looking between the two.

"True." Chantal nodded. "Though it's your mum that'll be the most challenging, Teag." said Chantal.

_**It was true, for banshees had the most difficult time being concealed from the world. I knew my father was going be strict, given my history, but Teagan's mother was an entirely different level of difficulty.**_

"ABSOLUTELY NOT." Tara scolded, her teeth pointing. "What do you think? That you're human? That you can just go running off to another country and no one is going to notice your differences? It is not safe!"

Though Audrey had known Tara her whole life, she sometimes hated her outbursts. Even if those outbursts were true.

"She is right." Isaac said sternly, his arms crossed, staring at the three girls.

The three girls had returned earlier to Teagan's log cabin to find Tara, her mother, sitting in the den chatting with Isaac. They figured they might as well ask those two first, seeing as they knew Catherine, Chantal's mother would say yes.

"We'd be with Chantal's father." Teagan pleaded. "Please."

"It's the middle of July." said Isaac, skeptical. "Why on earth would you three want to go to France now?"

"_Papa, please. We need a change of scenery_. _The every day things that we love are now becoming so mundane_." Audrey spoke Russian for the first time in what felt like centuries.

_**He was surprised by it, and so was I. The language we had once used everyday had ceased to be spoken after that terrible Christmas.**_

_**You can imagine our surprise when he consented. I believe it was hearing his native tongue. Perhaps it warmed his heart. Perhaps it told him that we were suffering and that this was our last chance to enjoy our lives and our freedom before it was all washed away by the waters of oppression and war.**_

Teagan's mother consented after a private chat with Isaac, and the girls breathed a sigh of relief.

The next day was a flurry of packing, though Audrey wasn't sure how long they were actually going to be in France. Chantal had never specified, and now Audrey had to write to Sirius explaining the whole thing.

_**He knew I was suffering there, I had told him after all. We wrote nearly everyday to each other. Though he was at the Potter's with James, he didn't fully understand the confinements that were placed upon us.**_

~~~

Miles away, Sirius Black sat on his bed at the Potters'.

_Peck. Peck._

At the window, was a tiny black owl.

"Omi!" Sirius cooed at the tiny owl, opening the window. James Potter, sitting in the chair next to Sirius' desk, snickered.

Sirius shot his best mate a look.

"You are so whipped, Pads." James smiled.

"To Omi?" Sirius raised a brow, acting dumb.

"You know very well what I mean, Sirius." James said, serious.

Sirius smirked at his friend, unfolding the parchment that Omi brought. "You'll understand one day, James. Just you wait."

_Sirius,_

_Somehow, my father, Teagan's mother, and Chantal's mother agreed to let us visit Montpellier for…I'm not sure how long. And I know what you're thinking to yourself "How could you not know how bloody long you'll be?" __Chantal, Teag, and I have never been the best at planning things so spontaneously… Hell, I think we're all still surprised that our parents actually said yes._

_Give James my love._

…_Oh, and I guess you could have some love too._

_Audrey_

Sirius cocked his head to the side as he read his letter, James watched amused.

"Let me guess." began James. "Russia's complaining _again_ about her mundane activities and being confined."

"Yeah, mate."

**James and I always made fun of them for complaining. It was ironic, for I wouldn't truly understand what they had gone through until much later on.**

_Audrey,_

_I WILL MOST CERTAINLY NOT GIVE JAMES YOUR LOVE…just kidding. I'm glad you're going to get out, but I hope you do realize that the day you are coming back, down to the very minute, I will be waiting at your cottage._

James read over Sirius' shoulder. "Gee mate, if you weren't together I'd say you were a creep."  
>"You're a creep for looking over my shoulder." Sirius smirked.<p>

_Keep me posted, beautiful._

_- Sirius_

Audrey chuckled at Sirius' letter.

_**There was no way that Sirius Black would arrive on time. No way. Though I was considering formally inviting him over to meet my parents…things were getting on the serious side at the time. **__**I knew it wouldn't be odd, for my parents had already met him. The circumstances however, were bloody and terrible.**_

Audrey's mind flashed back to St. Petersburg, the blood on the intricate wood floors. Her Nanna's blank lifeless stare…

She shook her head. She wouldn't think of it, she started new when she debuted and she needed to forget as much of the past as possible.

Chantal's father met the girls the next morning and they port-keyed to his château.

_**Luc, Chantal's father, was from a rather wealthy family of vampires. Her heritage was very similar to that of my family in St. Petersburg. There was always a pang in my chest when I remembered that.**_

_**Catherine, Chantal's mother, was still married to Luc even though they lived in two different countries. Catherine moved with Chantal after she was born, for her own safety. Just as my parents had when my mother was expecting me. Families like ours were always known targets. Whether it is for the money we had "stolen" from wizards, our secrets, or pure hatred for creatures. **_

_**Chantal still saw her father over summer holidays every year, but most of the time, Luc would come to them. It was much safer, our community in England was secluded, you see. However, in the last few months, with all of the break ins in various homes including my own, we had begun to question that.**_

"Welcome!" Luc exclaimed, as the four had landed in the main hallway of Château Roux.

"Luc, do you ever find it ironic that your last name is Roux?" Teagan asked, as they followed him down the hallway to their respective rooms.

"_Non, pour quoi?_" Luc asked.

"Well, you're a family of vampires and blood is red." Teagan smirked. "Red…rouge…roux…"

"That is hilarious! Why haven't I thought of that? You must tell that to my mother when you meet her." Luc laughed.

_**Chantal's father laughed like a giant that had just sucked on a helium balloon, it was magnified by the acoustics of the house**_.

Audrey and Chantal snorted and rolled their eyes. Luc had always been rather goofy when around the girls, but normally he was serious.


	62. Chapter 62

Thanks for the reviews, weasleytwinslover87, javalon14 (It's totally okay to be _that_girl! I just needed that chapter for transitional purposes. No worries. Sirius comes back into the story in this chapter and the next.) and LizziePixie-Aiko! :D

The FF editor is being annoying and cutting things off lately, so sorry if something gets cut off! D:

This was originally one chapter, but it got _really _long. So I've split it into two. Still writing…maybe I'll also have 64 out tonight.

Hey, hey you! Yes, you! No, wait, not you...the one in the back, next to that guy...YEAH! You! **Review please**? :D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 62

_**Montpellier was incredibly different from London and St. Petersburg. I wasn't reminded of anything, especially once I had gotten past meeting Chantal's family. A family of vampires is incredibly different from my family of…well, as I've said earlier, it's hard to label.**_

_**Montpellier was just what we needed; it was far from home, far from anyone that had known us. We spent a lot of time at the beach, which was incredibly close to **__**Château **__**Roux. I had never seen water so blue and clear before, it was beautiful.**_

_**We weren't out of the clear of the dance studio, we studied with Florence Chevalier, a rather strict vampire that Chantal studied with whenever she visited her father.**_

_**Though all of this was great, being away and in a new place. I must admit, I missed Sirius terribly.**_

_**We spent a month in Montpellier, on one of the last days that we were there Teagan came bursting into my bedroom…**_

Audrey sat on the windowsill, looking out on the front gardens. In the distance she could see the beach, and the water.

"AUDREY!" Teagan said.

"TEAGAN!" Audrey said mockingly with a smirk.

"I have something to show you. Well, _Chantal_ and _I_ have something to show you." Teagan said, keeping a straight face.

Audrey raised an eyebrow.

"May I ask what it is?"

"I have to blindfold you. It's a surprise." Teagan said, waving a bandana.

"Fine." Audrey said, motioning her forward, she squealed in delight.

"You better not be taking me out to get slaughtered, Teag. "Audrey said, sarcastic.

"Just don't make a sound, okay? It's important." Teagan said. Audrey nodded.

Teagan snorted and rolled her eyes, leading her through the house and into the gardens. On the far side, facing them, was Chantal with a boy who was also blindfolded.

Chantal and Teagan exchanged a smirk, they knew this was going to be funny.

"3..."  
>"2…"<p>

"1…" The two said together, removing the blindfolds.

Audrey recognized the face across the gardens right away.

Sven Beria.

~~~

_Sirius,_

_I miss you so much; I'm coming home this Friday. Would you like to come over?_

_With love,_

_Audrey._

"Aww, look! Russia gave you love." James cooed over Sirius' shoulder. Sirius put his palm on his best mate's face and shoved him away, laughing.

"I see she's invited you over too. Meeting the parents?" James raised an eyebrow.

Sirius sighed.

"Well, technically, I've already met them."

"How-OH RIGHT." James mouth hung open. "Oh my…do you think it's going to be awkward, Pads?"

"I don't know, Prongs." Sirius replied, contemplative. "I certainly hope not."

"The invite is only for the day, I'm assuming." James said, reading Audrey's letter.

Sirius snorted. "Well of course, do you honestly think her parents would let me sleep over? The mere fact that I'm a male and interested in their daughter is enough for any parents to kick me out of the house at sundown."

**Not only that, I came from one of the worst pure blood families around. I wasn't sure if her parents knew that or not.**

"You're right, mate." James agreed. "Well, not to worry. Everyone's coming the middle of next week anyway. Then we've got two weeks of shenanigans than it's back to school."

"I can't wait." Sirius grinned. "I miss the gang."

Sven and Audrey ran, and nearly fell over from tackling each other into a hug.

"_Sven…oh my merlin, Sven_." Audrey gasped, blinking some tears out of her eyes.

_"Nice to see you still speak in your native tongue."_ Sven grinned, wiping his eyes. _"I've missed you so much."_

"Aww." Chantal cooed, elbowing Teagan. "Look at the little Russians speaking Russian."

Teagan rolled her eyes at the veela.

_"I've missed you too, it's been a while since I've spoken though…my father…he avoids speaking it now. I spoke to him before we came to France and he was surprised."_ Audrey replied, as they got up and walked around the gardens for a bit.

"Come on, Teag. Let's leave those two to catch up." Chantal said, taking Teagan's arm and leading her back into the house.

_"How is your father?"_ Sven asked, he had a slightly dead look in his eyes, remembering Christmas.

"_He is…recovering_." Audrey said, searching for words. "_He's taken to just being busier than ever. When I went home the year after for Christmas, he refused to eat._"

"_Why_?" Sven asked. "_Other than the obvious…"_

"_To understand the hollowness that he felt, is what he said_." Audrey looked down. "_My mother says that he refuses to forgive himself. The night it all happened, they were celebrating and they didn't know until Albus' owl had arrived."_

"_It's such a silly thing to blame himself for, all things considered_." Sven said, looking around the gardens. "_But I understand._"

Audrey nodded, there was a small silence.

_"I'm sorry it's been a while since I've written."_ She said, looking at her best friend.

"_We're equally at fault." _He smiled. _"It's hard to maintain a bond over the distance between us and what's happened. Plus, we've both been rather busy. From what I remember from your last letter, you had just debuted and things were getting interesting with Sirius Black."_ He poked her side.

Audrey buried her head in her hands, embarrassed.

"_Oh Sven, I swore to myself, you were there, that I'd never give into Sirius Black. And look at me now, ridiculous_." Audrey said.

Sven laughed. _"Love is sometimes a very ridiculous thing. I won't say I didn't see it coming, because I did. Especially with all of the things you had told me about him over the years, then meeting him. It was rather obvious he was crazy for you."_

Audrey shook her head. _"Somewhere inside of me, the little Audrey is yelling 'You idiot!'_"

Sven burst out laughing. _"But, does he treat you well?"_

"_Yes_." Audrey nodded. "_He is very kind_."

"_Good_." Sven nodded.

"_How is he?"_ Audrey asked. Sven knew very well whom she was talking about.

"_He's alright. He spends a lot of time working, or studying, or playing Qudditch."_ Sven began. "_He's gotten really good, there are scouts coming to watch some of Zoloto's games this year, just for him."_

_"Has he…"_

Audrey began, but Sven seemed to read her mind and said.

"_Moved on?"_

Audrey nodded, Sven shook his head.

"_He hasn't."_

"_Is he alright?"_ Audrey felt a large pang of guilt in her chest.

_**I would always love Karl, but my heart now belonged to someone else. And to know that he wasn't with anyone made me sad.**_

"_Sometimes, I don't know."_ Sven said.

_**Though it was a pleasant surprise to see an old friend, but I was so relieved to go back to our small cottage in the woods. **_

Audrey walked back from Teagan's cottage to hers. She heard a low grumbling in the distance. Descending from the sky was a muggle motorcycle. Audrey stood on her guard, her eyes glowing yellow.

The bike landed easily, and the rider took of his helmet and shoot out his hair.

_**Sirius Black.**_

She dropped her duffle bag and sprinted towards him. He smirked, intercepting her.

"I didn't think you'd actually make it here when I did." Audrey said, after kissing him a few times. He grinned.

"I told you I'd be here the moment you got back." Sirius said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Come." Audrey said, grabbing his hand and leading him into the cottage.

**I remember being surprised at the time that she didn't inquire about the large muggle motorcycle I had brought with me.**

"_Mama? Papa_?" Audrey called, as the two entered the house.

**I was going to tell her how sexy I thought it was when she spoke Russian. But I decided against it. The house was too quiet, and Audrey had a look of curiosity on her face. She was piecing something together.**

Audrey sniffed, Sirius watched her curiously.

"Do you smell that?" She asked, looking at him. She was serious.

Sirius sniffed the air. "It smells faintly of…something burning."

**The cottage was a lot larger inside than out, everything was made of wood or stone. The craftsmanship was beautiful. I watched her and followed her as she made her way through a den area. We finally reached the back door, she slipped through it, and I followed.**

There was a large plume of smoke coming from the trees.

Audrey started to sprint towards the wooded area, she picked up speed quickly. Sirius wouldn't be able to keep up as a human, so he transformed…though it was still hard to keep up as a dog. She was quite a ways ahead of him.

As they got deeper into the woods, the smoke became thicker. Sirius couldn't see much until Audrey had skidded to a halt in a clearing. Sirius slammed into her. He transformed back, coughing.

"Audrey?" He said.

A large shed was on fire; Sirius assumed it belonged to the Dalios.

She didn't respond, and she began to survey the area. She looked panicked.

_**My father's workshop was up in flames**_.

Audrey mustered up all of the energy she could and began blowing wind onto the fire, but realized it didn't help much. Some of it blew onto the trees.

_**It wasn't fiendfyre, but it was far too large for me to put out by myself.**_

Audrey ran to the other side of the clearing, sucked in a large gust of air and shrieked.

"TEAGAN! TARA! HELP! HELP! FIRE IN THE CLEARING!"

**The rest, was indiscernible, I assumed she was speaking banshee. **

There was a small whooshing noise and Teagan came sprinting up past Sirius.

"OH MERLIN." She gasped, and ran back through the clearing.

"She's much help." Sirius snorted, taking out his wand. Audrey held out her arm.

"You can't."

"Audrey, this is an _emergency_, fuck the restriction." Sirius said, looking at her as if she were crazy.

"Sirius, the ministry knows this commune is entirely made up of half breeds. If you are _seen_ here, near this fire, _you_ will be blamed. Or worse, captured and killed." Audrey said gravely. "The devils are inside the walls too."

**She was right…my family was very open about hating half-breeds and pure bloods. What I didn't know at the time was that their commune was supposedly **_'heavily guarded' _**by the Ministry. Of course, at that time, the ministry was collapsing and Voldemort was gaining power. That summer, these attacks and deaths had started showing up in the Daily Prophet. His Death Eater's, all pure blood supremacists, were killing and torturing creatures around the world. It didn't surprise me that they were all beginning to infiltrate the ministry. After all, jackasses need day jobs too.**

There was a thud that sounded from within the shed. Audrey froze, listening.

**Since becoming an animagus, my hearing became a lot better, and I heard faint breaths, gasps for air. Judging by Audrey's face she had heard them too.**

Audrey was about to bolt straight for the burning shack but Sirius grabbed her around the waist.

"Audrey…" Sirius said calmly. "You can't."

She struggled for a moment then broke free, knocking Sirius far back.

**I sometimes hated having a "special girlfriend" as James always put it.**

Sirius watched her run straight to the fire, he jumped to his feet and Audrey thrust her hand backwards, a gust of wind knocked him backwards again.

She disappeared into the flames.


	63. Chapter 63

This one's a little longer, working on 64!

Reviews are appreciated!

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 63

"AUDREY!" Sirius roared.

A second later, Teagan came running with a large bucket; followed by a banshee Sirius assumed was her mother. There was a small elderly man carrying another bucket, and then a veela.

"Where's Audrey?" Teagan yelled, over the roar of the flames.

"She went into the fire!" Sirius exclaimed, taking one of the extra buckets that Teagan bought.

**The fire was far too intense, and I felt my stomach tying into knots for the first time in two years.**

It bothered Sirius that Teagan didn't seem to be affected by the fact that Audrey had just went straight into the fire.

From inside the ring of flames, Audrey yelled for help.

_**My mother, was trapped inside of my father's workshop, the flames engulfed everything. Her face was pressed against the small window.**_

_**My heart was threatening to jump out of my throat.**_

Audrey looked for something to smash the window with, but there were no rocks to be found. Everything was burnt or burning.

"_Stand back!_" Audrey yelled to her mother in banshee.

_**I punched the window out, I had no other choice.**_

Airleas stuck her head through the window, gasping for air.

"_Mama! What has happened?"_ Audrey asked, grabbing her mother's arms and pulling her through the small window. She was lucky her mother was so skinny.

Airleas could barely breathe, and she shook her head as the two fell to the ground.

_**My mother had burns all over her body, and cuts…nothing made sense.**_

Outside of the fire, more and more residents in the surrounding area came to help put out the fire with whatever they could. Buckets of water, wands, anything.

**Werewolves, veelas, banshees, vampires, goblins…they all showed up.**

Sirius watched, amazed. The fire had gone down a little bit, but it was still blazing. Through the large crowd came a booming familiar voice.

"Watch yourselves!"

Isaac Dalio came bursting through the crowd followed by Albus Dumbledore.

"STAND BACK PLEASE!" Dumbledore shouted. Sirius was amazed that they had all looked at the Headmaster the way that his students did.

Isaac looked enraged and Sirius felt this was probably the worst possible time to be visiting. He watched as he contorted his hands to resemble claws.

A large gusting wind came from behind everyone, knocking several over, including Sirius. Isaac had incredible control over it. He was isolating the fire with such ease, something his daughter could not do when she tried.

The fire began to die out, between Isaac's control over the wind and Albus spraying a large jet of water from his wand.

With the wind, the smoke cleared rapidly. And everything was clear now.

Audrey was lying on the ground, next to Airleas. Both were covered in soot.

**The end of Audrey's hair was still on fire. The majority of the crowd rushed over to them.**

Sirius managed to squeeze to the front with the help of Teagan. Albus and Isaac crouched over the two. Audrey's mother was in terrible shape.

"Is she alright?" Sirius asked, alarmed.

"She will be alright, Mr. Black." Albus replied calmly, gently running his hands over some of Airleas' wounds. There was a large gash across her forehead.

Teagan put out the fire that was burning at the end of Audrey's hair.

"Thanks, Teag." Audrey coughed, sitting up.

"Thank you, all of you." Isaac stood, looking around at his neighbors. "This means more to me than you could ever know."

There were shouts of "Anytime" and "Always" as the crowd dispersed. Leaving just Tara, Teagan, and Catherine.

"Let's move her inside." Albus suggested, conjuring a stretcher and carefully placing Airleas onto it. Isaac walked in stride with the headmaster, followed by the two banshees and the veela. Sirius and Audrey brought up the rear.

"Sirius, love. I can walk." Audrey insisted, trying to wiggle out of his arms.

"You inhaled a lot of smoke." Sirius argued, as they made it into the house. He set her down on the stone counter in the kitchen. He placed his hands on her thighs, looking at her.

**Her right hand was all bloodied up and torn.**

"What did you do to your hand?" He asked, concerned.

"I punched the window out." Audrey wheezed, slightly dizzy. She leant her head on Sirius' shoulder. "It was the only way I could get her out…the flames were too high near the door."

_**Perhaps I really had inhaled a lot of smoke…**_

Sirius nodded, running a hand through her hair.

"I cannot believe part of your hair actually burnt off." He mused, trying to lighten her mood. She laughed and then began to cough.

**Maybe humor was a bad idea.**

Tara came into the kitchen.

"She'll be fine, Audrey." She spoke in English so Sirius didn't feel left out. "She's restin' in the other room."

She conjured a long bandage and looked at Audrey's hand. Shaking her head, slightly amused.

"You used your right hand."

"So I could still play cello." Audrey replied. "I didn't think of it when I punched out the window, but I guess it was instinct."

Tara cleaned and bandaged her hand.

"Thank you, Tara." Audrey spoke, her head still resting on Sirius' shoulder.

"Let's get her to the sofa over there." Tara said, looking at Sirius. He nodded and picked Audrey up with ease.

Audrey sat up on the sofa, still wheezing. Tara started running her hands through Audrey's hair.

"It must've been a cursed fire, it burnt your hair. Hair like ours never burns."

"It wasn't fiendfyre." Audrey breathed.

"No." Tara shook her head. "It wasn't, but it was dark magic of some sort."

As Tara ran her hands through Audrey's hair, the singed ends began to repair themselves and regrow. Sirius' eyes widened.

"Bet you didn't know we could do that." Tara winked, chuckling. She began to braid the front part of Audrey's hair, then tied it into a bun.

"Thanks, Tara." Audrey said, resting her head again on Sirius' shoulder as he sat down. Tara exited and went to the other room to check on Airleas. Teagan walked in.

"Well, this was a rude awakening after Montpellier." She said, sitting on the chair across from the couch. Audrey nodded.

"Where's Chantal?" Sirius asked, realizing the veela wasn't there.

"She's still in France." Teagan replied, as she walked out of the room. "Staying with her father and her boyfriend."

"Sven was there?" Sirius was surprised. Audrey nodded.

"He was coming to visit Chantal anyway, and she decided to surprise both of us."

"How is he?" Sirius asked, genuinely curious.

"He's alright, he's got this dead look in his eyes…" Audrey lamented.

_**I didn't blame Sven…I think we all were a little dead inside, I knew I was.**_

Sirius nodded, understanding what she meant.

"St. Petersburg is not what it used to be…" She said, looking out the window at the burnt trees. "This place isn't either."

A few moments later, the Headmaster joined them and sat in the chair across from them.

"Audrey, I need to know everything that's happened since you arrived home." Albus said, looking at them from his half-moon spectacles.

Audrey sucked in a breath. "I came home through the woods, I saw Sirius. I lead him inside assuming that my parents were inside. No one was here, and there were no notes, no indication that they had left, no signs of a struggle, nothing. I then smelled something faint, something was burning…and then we came outside…"

Sirius watched the Headmaster's eyes twinkle, he was thinking about something.

"Isaac tells me that you and your mother were in another incident earlier this summer." Albus began. "Can you describe to me that incident?"

Audrey nodded, sitting up a bit and taking her head from Sirius' shoulder. She seemed to be regaining her strength.

"I was upstairs, packing and getting ready to go to James' and I heard something fall downstairs. I thought it was nothing, until my mother hissed. Men from St. Petersburg were in our home. They…they asked her where I was. But she lied, and said I wasn't there. She wouldn't let me come downstairs; there were a lot of them… I could smell them; I could hear their hearts beating. They attacked her, and she sent my things to James' and then instructed me, in Banshee, to get Papa and leave."

Albus nodded, piecing things together.

"Albus," Audrey said.

I was always so surprised that she addressed him by his first name.

"Who did this to my mother?" She asked, her eyes turning from yellow, to black, back to yellow again.

"I do not know, Audrey." Albus replied. "Your father and I are trying to figure that out…but we have our suspicions."

"Are they _russkiĭ_ or are they _angliĭskiĭ_?" Audrey's eyes narrowed.

"I suspect that they are Russian." Albus nodded. "But with all of the attacks going on in your community, we cannot be too sure."

"We're waiting until Airleas wakes up to hear her account of this." Said Isaac, joining them. Audrey nodded.

"Papa, where were you?" Audrey asked, looking at her father with blue eyes.

"I was far across the clearing, with Mr. Taylor, helping him rebuild his home."

_**Mr. Taylor was a werewolf that had constantly been denying the men that showed up at his door. Asking him to join them, to join **__him__**.**_

Audrey nodded.

"Please do not take offense to what I am about to say." Isaac began, holding his hands up in surrender. "But when did Sirius arrive?"

"Are you implying…" Audrey began, giving her father a dark look.

"I am not. But it doesn't mean that someone might have followed him here."

"He arrived when I did." Audrey replied, calming down.

"It was someone from home." Said a calm voice, Airleas had limped into the room, leaning against the wall. Some of her cuts had been healed by Catherine, the burns were bandaged up.

_**It was the first time I had ever seen my mother so vulnerable, and it frightened me.**_

"They were looking for you." Airleas said, looking at her child with such sorrow.

"What happened?" Albus asked.

"They trapped me." Airleas said quietly. "They threatened me, saying that they had already had Isaac. I didn't know where Isaac was…"

Isaac nodded, apologizing in banshee.

"They told me... vasha dochʹ budet smotretʹ na vas gorit."

_**"Your daughter will watch you burn."**_

"Well they were wrong." Audrey muttered, her eyes turning black with hatred.

Later in the afternoon, Albus left the cottage, saying that he had some Hogwarts business to attend to. Sirius watched as Isaac and Audrey prepared dinner, they spoke quietly in Russian. He couldn't tell if they were arguing or just talking to each other.

**I had an uncomfortable feeling that they were talking about me. Though, anyone who wasn't familiar with a language and was in the presence of it's speakers could feel the same way. Seclusion.**

Airleas came into the room, joining Sirius on the couch.

"Don't worry." Airleas said. "That's normal for them…they're not talking about you. Well, they were…Isaac is just saying that it is not wise to put a human in danger. Especially with your family situation."

**The Dalios knew of my mother disowning me, and my strong opposition of their values. I believe that was the only reason Isaac had trusted me with his daughter. **

"I wasn't in much danger, honestly." Sirius replied. "Walburga would be happy if I died the fire."

"I am sorry you were born to such cruel people." Airleas said, fluffing his hair. "It is unfortunate."

Sirius nodded, thanking her.

**The dinner wasn't as awkward as I had thought, despite all of the day's events, and the previous circumstances in which I had met Audrey's parents.**

"So, that muggle motorbike outside…?" Isaac asked, looking at Sirius. He grinned.

"Right. I didn't get a chance to tell you about that." He said, looking at Audrey who raised a brow.

"James and I were browsing a junkyard in the next town over, and we found it."

"And you've been fixing it up, how?" Audrey asked.

"Well, it's _technically _illegal." Sirius said thoughtfully.

"So are we." Isaac said, looking at his wife and daughter. They burst into laughter.

As the evening went on, the mood seemed to lighten.

_**Sirius wasn't allowed to sleep over, my parents feared for his safety. After all, we were already targets, and for defecting from his family and their beliefs, Sirius was too. We couldn't endanger him.**_ _**Albus had informed Henry and Elly Potter of what happened, and Henry showed up to apparate with Sirius and his bike. I was lucky enough to be granted a few minutes of privacy with him before he left.**_

"I'll see you soon." Sirius said, his forehead pressed against hers. Audrey nodded, kissing him.

"I'm so sorry."

"For what, Russia?" Sirius asked.

"For everything that's happened today." Audrey sputtered, looking at him. "This wasn't my ideal day to have you here."

Sirius grabbed her head and kissed her. "It's fine. I'm glad you're back in England." He smiled, she smiled back.

After a few words with Henry, Audrey bid farewell to the two.

"Sad that he's gone?" Isaac asked, leaning up against the doorframe.

_**It was times like then when I marveled at how all knowing my father seemed…**_

"A little." Audrey replied. "But I'm more embarrassed than anything. I put him in such danger today."

"It's not your fault." Isaac replied, looking out into the forest. "Plus, you'll be seeing him again in about a day and a half."

Audrey raised an eyebrow, looking at her father.

"I am sending you to Henry's early."

"_Why, Papa_?" Audrey asked, though she had a feeling that she already knew.

Isaac ushered her inside and closed the door behind them.

"It is not safe for you here, my child. It would be better if you stayed hiding in plain view, with the Potters. Posing as a human. You are much safer there and at school than you are here. Tara is sending Teagan away as well, Chantal is not returning." Isaac said.

_**It was a harsh reality, and the beginning of a bloody war.**_


	64. Chapter 64

Thanks for the reviews, LizziePixie-Aiko, Little Old Anonymous Me (Thanks for letting me know, I would have been so confused. :P I'm about to do a name change myself!), thewrittenword87, Javalon14, Sophie (the stupid FF editor keeps cutting your username off. -_-) , and Weasleytwinslover87!

Answering Sophie's question: Generally, I tend to update more towards the evenings. (Eastern Standard Time) But today's an exception.

Hey, you know what would be cool? Hitting that review button at the bottom of the chapter. Please? :D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 64

_**Even though my father had said a day and a half, I was gone in less than a day.**_

Audrey looked around her empty bedroom. All of the photos had been taken from the walls, the bed was gone.

_**It was as if I had never lived there, as if I had never existed…**_

As my father led me to the main clearing that day, where everyone in the community normally met for festivities, I saw all familiar faces. It was chaos. Many families in the community were sending their children away. It was no longer safe for any of us, and eventually, our parents would all leave as well. I saw Teagan as I left with my father…the fire the previous day had been the final straw. Teagan was being sent to another colony across the country, then going back to the banshee conservatory that she attended in Finland.

_**I honestly didn't know if I was coming back the next summer, but with everyone sending their young off, it didn't seem so.**_

Isaac grabbed Audrey's arm and within a second, all that she knew became a blur.

They landed in front of a familiar fence, with the letter P carved onto the door.

"Henry?" Isaac called.

"Coming!" Audrey heard James' father in the distance, he appeared at the door a few moments later, opening it.

"Welcome!" Henry smiled.

_**Though Henry was always happy to see James' friends, the way he smiled at me made me feel like it was more out of pity because I now had a huge target on my back.**_

Audrey said goodbye to her father, as she watched him walk towards the gate.

"_Papa?"_ She called.

He turned, looking at his daughter. His eyes were yellow.

"_Will I see you at the train station?"_ She asked.

_**It was such a simple question, but he took so long to answer, which shook my bones**_.

_"I do not know."_

_**And then he disappeared.**_

Audrey followed Henry inside, Elly sat on the sofa knitting, she beamed at Audrey.

"The boys are outside practicing Quidditch." Henry said, he waved his wand and Audrey's trunk and cello disappeared.

"When _aren't_ they playing Quidditch?" Audrey replied, putting what she called her _Ayla-Act_ on.

Henry chuckled, patting her shoulder. "It's good to see you, Audrey."

"You too, sir." Audrey beamed, making her way upstairs to the familiar guest bedroom.

One she was out of sight of Henry and Elly, she let her guard down. Her facial expression changed.

_**There were many emotions threatening to escape me from the last two days, and seeing my father leave was the final blow. **__**I didn't want to talk to James or Sirius about it, as much as I loved them, they would never truly understand.**_

_Dear Remus,_

_I don't know where to begin…I also don't know what you may or may not know…_

_I'm at the Potters, I just got here.__ My parents have just sent me away because of everything that's been happening._

_It feels as though I no longer have a home, Remus. I looked around my room today, and it was empty._

_I just feel so strange and saddened._

_See you soon._

_Audrey._

Outside, in the yard, James and Sirius were flying around, tossing a quaffle back and forth.

"Hello?" a familiar voice called from the other side of the fence. The two boys looked down.

"Moony!" Sirius exclaimed.

"You're early, mate!" said James, as landing on the ground. Sirius followed.

"What brings you to us a week early?" Sirius grinned, hugging the werewolf.

"It seems Audrey needs someone _special_ to talk to." Remus replied, holding up a piece of parchment.

The two boys wore identical looks of confusion.

"Don't play dumb. I know she's here, she said she just arrived, and I got this letter about an hour ago. You know, it doesn't take long for an owl to get from your house to mine."

It was true; it only took about 45 minutes for an owl to get from James to Remus, or Remus to James. They had tested this their first year.

"Moony, I think I would know if my own _girlfriend_ arrived." Sirius snorted, waving him off.

Remus rolled his eyes.

"Hey Dad?" James called.

"Yes, son?" Henry said, appearing at the backdoor. "Remus! When did you get here?"

"Five minutes ago, sir." Remus replied, giving him a nod.

"Dad, is Audrey here?" James asked, wanting to prove Remus wrong.

"Yes, she got here nearly 2 hours ago. She's up in her room." said Henry.

With that, Sirius bolted past Henry straight into the house. James exchanged a look with his father and Remus, they burst out laughing.

"Why didn't you tell us?" James asked, as the three made their way inside.

"Well, you were playing Quidditch and Audrey seemed a little upset. Naturally, with everything that's happened to her in the last few hours." said Henry, opening the door.

Upstairs, they heard a yell and a bang.

Remus bolted upstairs, James followed.

"Of course." Remus snorted, as the two stood in the doorway. Sirius had Audrey wrapped in his arms, and was snogging her face off.

"It's been less than a bloody day since you've seen each other." James shouted.

Sirius broke apart from her with a Cheshire grin; he pulled Audrey closer to him.

"I didn't know you were coming back so soon." He kissed her forehead.

"I'm going to vomit." James called. Audrey wiggled out of Sirius' arms, giving James a hug.

"You came?" Audrey asked, looking at Remus. There were some tears in her eyes. He nodded. She hugged him.

"Come on, Pads." James said, grabbing Sirius' arm. "Let's leave our _special_ friends to talk about _special _things."

Remus sat down on the bed next to Audrey, she sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"It was _brutal_, Remus."

"I can imagine." He replied, concerned. He gave her a one armed hug.

"It was like I didn't exist." Audrey sobbed, covering her mouth. Remus rubbed her back. Audrey went on explaining the previous day, the fire, her mother, everything.

"And my father, when he walked away earlier said he didn't know if he was going to see me off."

"Well, you know they're not doing it intentionally." Remus reasoned.

"I know." Audrey nodded, wiping some tears. "It just hurts."

Remus nodded.

"And it's hard to find a human that gets it…"

"Well I could see that." Remus reasoned. "Creatures are very communal, and let's face it, we're the _first_ to go. The wizarding world has _never_ treated us with respect. The only reason we've gotten ourselves into society is merely because we _appear _human." Remus said, slightly bitter.

"How have your parents been…with this whole thing?" Audrey asked, her eyes turning blue.

"They're concerned." Remus replied. "But they're stubborn, especially my father. But as soon as I am 17, I am moving out. I can't put them in danger any longer."

"Where will you go?" Audrey asked.

"I don't know yet, but somewhere far from them…I don't want them to get hurt because of me." Remus said, looking out the window. He changed the subject. "Come now, let's join the other two."

Audrey jumped off her bed and followed Remus down the hallway and down the staircase. James and Sirius were in the living area, huddled together.

"What are you two plotting now?" Remus said, coming between them. Audrey came around the other side, facing the three boys.

"Just some pranks for the new year." Sirius grinned, rubbing his hands together.

"You idiots realize I'm going to have to deduct house points, right?" Remus said flatly, looking at some of their pranks.

"Done with your creature support group?" Sirius asked, purposely changing the subject. Audrey rolled her eyes, now was _not_ the time to joke about it.

"It isn't easy being special." James chimed in, grinning.

"Of course, mate. It's such a problem being fast and agile." Sirius elbowed him. Remus wore a very serious expression; Audrey could tell he was annoyed.

"And let's not forget being able to cause earthquakes and flying without a broom." Said James.

Their jokes were now targeting Audrey more than Remus.

"Who needs a lantern when you've got two of them in your eyeballs?"  
>"Who needs a wand when you've got magic flowing straight through your hands?"<p>

_CRACK._

The table that Sirius and James were sitting at broke into tiny pieces. Audrey exited the living room and went straight upstairs, furious.

"Aww, baby, come back." Sirius called, following her up the stairs.

"Never seen that happen before. She's always so calm." James said, looking from the table to Remus. Remus' expression hadn't changed; he wondered _how _his friends could be so stupid sometimes.

Sirius opened Audrey's door cautiously, she sat on her bed, facing the window. Her hair was sticking out at all ends; it looked like a jolt of lightening had passed through her.

"Audrey…"

"Don't." She said roughly, not in the mood.

"Audrey." Sirius said again, bold.

_**It amazed me that Sirius was not afraid.**_

She did not turn.

"Please, look at me."

Silence.

"Audrey." Sirius was still calm, his voice unwavering.

"Get out, Sirius." Audrey hissed, annoyed.

"No."

"Get _out_, Sirius." Audrey hissed again.

"No." He said, firm. "Audrey, we were just joking around. Lighten up."

"Lighten up?" Audrey finally turned around. "Lighten up? Sirius, you both were blatantly making fun of creatures, when Remus and I were _right_ there."

"Remus didn't chose to be a werewolf, he was attacked when he was young." Sirius argued, still calm.

"AND YOU THINK _I_ CHOSE TO BE LIKE THIS?" Audrey was incredulous.

"Audrey, I know you didn't chose to be what you are." Sirius said.

**I knew better than to raise my voice to her.**

"Then why did you and James go on saying such horrible things?" She was exasperated. "Don't you know how _hurtful _that is?"

"We were joking around, love." Sirius replied, looking at her.

"You both made it seem you were under the impression that my life is just _so_ simple."

"We know it's not."

"Then why did you joke about it in the first place?" Audrey was hurt.

"We were just trying to lighten the mood a bit." Sirius shrugged.

"Sirius, after everything that's happened in the last two days…how on earth did either of you think that this would lighten the mood?" Audrey blinked back some tears.

"Because we all need to laugh at ourselves sometimes." Sirius replied easily, finally taking a step towards her.

"I do laugh at myself…for being damned." Audrey mumbled the last part.

"You're not damned." Sirius replied, sitting next to her. She still didn't look at him.

"…And if you are damned, I'll be damned with you."

_**Such lies.**_

Audrey gave him a look.

"That's thoughtful Sirius, but you are a human. You'll never know what it's like to know persecution. You'll never know what it's like to be torn from the people you love, because you will never be forced to."

"I know, I have it lucky in that sense." Sirius said, taking her hand. She was shaking with anger, and he could see that she was trying very hard to control herself. "But I do know one thing, I never want to be torn from you."

Audrey looked at him, her eyes going from red to white.

She rested her head on his shoulder and heaved a sigh.

"I'm sorry we hurt your feelings." Sirius said, stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry I nearly exploded and threw you out the window." said Audrey.

Sirius gave her an odd look, she giggled.

"I'm just kidding…but I did want to punch you…instead, I broke the table." Audrey rubbed the back of her head, feeling a little awkward.

"I'm sure James has already fixed it." Sirius reassured, taking her hand. "Let's go back downstairs, I need to apologize to Moony, I'm pretty sure he was going to bite me down there."


	65. Chapter 65

Username change, woo. I just needed something different.

Thanks for the reviews, Little Old Anonymous Me, thewrittenword87, javalon14, and LizziePixie-Aiko!

Review please? It lets me know I have readers… :D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 65

_**I recall that September of that year was rather bizarre, we were entering our second to last year of school and nothing seemed real. Adding to that, I had received the strangest letter.**_

Omi hooted excitedly, flying around Sirius and Audrey's heads as they were studying. She was carrying a gold envelope.

"My inner dog wants to eat your bird." Sirius grumbled, annoyed. They had woken early that day to get a head start on their studies.

"Just because you're missing precious hours of _beauty _sleep doesn't mean you have to threaten my beautiful owl." Audrey replied calmly, petting Omi.

"It's Saturday." Sirius whined.

"So?"

Sirius shot her a glare.

"You're so adorable when you're cranky." She said sarcastically.

He grunted and rested his head on the table. She laughed.

"Wmmh duh noh sah?" He said.

"What?" Audrey asked, picking his head up from the table.

"What does the note day?"

Audrey opened the letter.

_You are cordially invited to my funeral on September 25__th__ at the Kyoto Botanical Garden._

_Services start at 3 pm._

_Wear colors of autumn._

_Hisoka_

Sirius raised an eyebrow at Audrey.

"Well, Hisoka is a vampire, an unregistered one. And she needs to kill herself off every eighty or so years so no one is suspicious. She's very famous among Japanese muggles, so she dies every now and then. She keeps her surname, and changes everything else. So at this point, she's her own great granddaughter." Audrey explained.

Sirius cocked his head.

"What?"

"Creatures are so weird." He said, resting his head back onto the table.

Later in the day, after they had finished studying and Sirius fell asleep on the sofa, Audrey went to the West Wing to see Hisoka.

She didn't even have to knock on the door this time.

"How did you hear me?" Audrey asked, giving her mentor a bow and looking at her with curiosity.

"You were quiet, but not quiet enough for my ears." Hisoka replied, letting her in. Audrey held up her funeral invitation.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Audrey asked, cocking her head.

"It's rather sudden, I know." Hisoka said, flicking her wand and making tea. "My _danna_-"

"Atsuo." Audrey said.

"Mr. Isamu." Hisoka corrected, continuing. "Wishes to see me, he hasn't seen me in years and I do owe him some quality time. Plus, I'm at that age where I need to start over again."

Audrey nodded.

"So what will be your new name?"

"_Amami_." Hisoka replied, Audrey nodded.

"I have to ask though, am I going to this funeral as Ayla or as Audrey?"

"As Ayla, of course." Hisoka replied. "Blake was already invited to my funeral anyway."

_**Blake Williams was one of my top personal patrons. He called on me the most, and certainly paid the most. He was a chaser for the **__**Wollongong Warriors. He was someone Hisoka had been pushing me further and further towards in the last few months.**_

_**Blake was a very generous patron, but this meant that I could not bring Sirius to the funeral for support.**_

_**…Then again, it wasn't a funeral.**_

_**Very early in the morning on the 25****th**__**, I port keyed with Edgar to the botanical garden. It was absolutely beautiful; hues of red, gold, and orange surrounded us.**_

_**Hisoka had taken to picking out my attire… even for her funeral. It was a long red dress, with a v-neckline that was adorned with silver and red beads. It was an open backed dress, with small thin ruffles trailing down the train. Along with it, was a gold shawl.**_

_**It was rather bizarre to me to wear something so elegant to such a morbid event.**_

_**…Then again, it **wasn't** a funeral.**_

_**There were so many people there, it made me wonder how many people Hisoka knew. It also made me wonder how many of them knew she was a vampire and faking her own death for the third time.**_

Audrey made her way through the crowd of people. They matched the trees, just like the invitation had requested.

"Ayla-san!" said a voice that gave Audrey the chills. She turned to see Atsuo Isamu grinning at her. He gave her a bow, she bowed in return.

"It is so nice to see you, but such sad circumstances." He said, looking over at the urn where Hisoka's ashes were supposed to be.

"Same to you." Audrey replied. She gave him another bow and excused herself, seeing Blake in the distance._**  
><strong>_

_**It was at that moment, that I had realized that not only was this Hisoka having to cover her tracks, but this was a test for me. A test to see how well I could act, and as I looked through the crowd I saw a geisha in a black kimono adorned with red and orange leaves at the hem. She had her hair **__**up in a style I had never seen; it was a round curve on the top and sides of her head, and a round bun in the middle. Her face was painted white, her lips were red, her eyes had black and red make up around them.**_

_**She gave me a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement. An all-knowing look in her eyes.**_

"She's incredibly crafty, isn't she?" said a voice in her ear. Audrey turned to see Edgar, also staring at the young geisha. He then made his way around the guests to mingle.

"Ayla, I am so sorry for your loss." said Blake, making his way over and hugging Audrey to him with one arm.

_**I had been crying a lot of false tears that day.**_

"Thank you, Blake." Audrey said, wiping her eyes. "I know that she is in a better place, in paradise."

Blake nodded, taking her hand and leading her around the gardens. Out of the corner of her eye, Audrey could see Hisoka as Amami watching her as she was conversing with someone.

_**If I hadn't known Hisoka for so long at that point, I would have thought that she was incredibly creepy. **_

They walked over the leaves, towards the Kamo river.

_**I always loved the sound of crunching leaves.**_

"Ayla?"

"Yes?"

"This may come off as incredibly ignorant and rude, but will you still be entertaining even though Hisoka is…" He blushed, feeling a little awkward and embarrassed.

"Deceased?" Audrey finished for him, raising an eyebrow. He nodded shyly.

"Yes, Hisoka passed me along to a new mentor to help me establish further, then I will be on my own." Audrey replied, looking at the river.

_**Edgar and I returned to the school around noon, the eight hour time different between Japan and the United Kingdom was a little odd to get used to. The sun was just setting when we left Japan, and it was still in the sky when we returned to school.**_

Audrey heaved a sigh as she entered the common room, Lily was the only one there.

"Hey Lily!" Audrey beamed.

"You look quite happy for someone who just attended a funeral." Lily said, sarcastic.

The two girls looked at each other, then laughed.

"How are you? Where is everyone?"

"I'm fine." Lily replied. "The boys are out at Hogsmeade and Marlene and Sarah are in the studio practicing."

Audrey nodded, forgetting it was a Hogsmeade weekend. She ran upstairs, and changed out of her dress into a pair of dark jeans and a red V-neck with _Gryffindor_ on it.

Lily was tired of studying, so the two decided to meet up with Severus and go for a walk.

_**We talked about everything and anything, like we always did. It was nice to just be with them alone, we hadn't had much alone time in the first month of school. Between our separate studies, my profession, and Sirius it was difficult to see each other.**_

_**...Especially because of Sirius.**_

As they made their way back to the castle for dinner, something caught Severus in the back of the head. It was a disgusting green goop, some of it splattered onto Lily and Audrey.

Lily groaned in frustration, and the three turned to see James and Sirius.

They were grinning of course, like they always did.

"Black! Potter!" Lily gritted her teeth.

"Evans." The boys said, together.

"This isn't funny." Lily hissed, Audrey held both of her arms out, holding back her friends.

"Actually, Evans, I think it looks rather hilarious. You all pull off green quite well." Sirius beamed.

Severus broke lose and hexed Sirius, and then all chaos ensued. Jets of light were flying left and right, Lily joined the fray, incredibly annoyed that the two Gryffindors were ganging up on Severus. Audrey felt herself at a crossroad.

All four of them knew what Audrey was, and knew of her powers. That wasn't the issue, the issue was being seen, or severely injuring any of her friends. Audrey didn't have to break them apart when a hex that she assumed was meant for Severus, hit Lily instead. It burned her all of her arm and part of her neck.

_**Everything seemed to stop at that moment, time stood still among the five of us. Realization is such a terrible thing. I could tell by the look on his face, that it was James Potter who had cast that spell.**_

The two boys rushed over, Severus hovered over Lily, looking at her burns carefully. Audrey rushed over as well, Lily was pale and in pain.

"Lily." James choked, horrified. "I'm so sorry."

She didn't say anything, Severus was furious. He raised his wand and pointed it at James, but Sirius pointed his at Severus.

"ENOUGH!" Audrey hissed, gently knocking them away from each other on a gust of wind. She helped Severus back up off the ground but completely ignored Sirius and James.

"C'mon. Let's get her to the hospital wing. These burns are beyond either of our knowledge." Audrey said, in a dead voice.

_**When we brought Lily to the hospital wing, I was juggling back and forth whether I should tell Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall that James and Sirius were responsible. I wanted them to be punished for what they did, but thinking about it…they had already served so many detentions in their five previous years that I hardly thought it would have much of an affect on them.**_

Afterwards, Audrey bid farewell to Severus and made her way back to the Gryffindor common room.

_**Of course, with my luck, the Marauders were the only ones in the common room.**_

"Russia, how's Lily?" James jumped off the couch, nervous.

Audrey didn't respond, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Honestly, darling." Sirius said. "Now's not the time to play the _silence_ game."

It was a game Sirius knew well after all, he was pretty sure Audrey had given him the cold shoulder for something stupid he did almost every year at school except for the previous one. But this time, he wasn't the one at fault…at least, he didn't think so.

Audrey still didn't respond, and made her way up the spiral staircase to the girl's side.

She came back down a few minutes later in her dance shorts and a Zoloto Quidditch teeshirt with Sven's last name, Beria, on the back.

"Audrey." James was desperate. She ignored him once again, and walked straight for the portrait hole.

"HEY!" Sirius shouted, annoyed as she walked through the hole and out of sight.

Audrey proceeded down the hallway, heading off to the studio to meet with Marlene and Sarah. Not far behind her, was Sirius.

"Audrey."

She ignored him.

_Thud_.

A stone hit her in the back.

_**A huge mistake.**_

**More like a catastrophic mistake…**

Sirius threw something at Audrey, and then she turned, raising an eyebrow. Her eyes were red.

"Why are you acting like this?" Sirius asked from across the hall, beginning to approach her.

"_Why_ am I acting like this?" Audrey was incredulous, one of her hands rested on her hip. "Sirius, don't be thick. You're a lot brighter than this, I know it."

"James and I have been pranking Snivellus f-"

"SEVERUS." Audrey hissed. "His name is _Severus_."

"for years." Sirius finished. "Look, I'm sorry it got on you and Lily, and then that stray hex but-"

"Sirius." Audrey said serious. "It's not the slime, it's the mere fact that you two _continue_ to go after Severus. What has he done to you? Nothing!"

"He's a slimy git, and he's always been on our backs since the very first night at school. You either choose to ignore that, or were not around." Sirius spat, getting annoyed.

"Regardless. The fact that you both continue to just attack him. If you're so concerned, you'd be the bigger person and not stoop so low." Audrey replied, her eyes alternating between red and black.

"Audrey, it's hard _not_ to attack a future Death Eater." Sirius did not blink, staring her down.

"He's not going to be a Death Eater, Sirius." Audrey snarled back. "If you even took the time to know him you would see that as well."

"Oh don't be thick, Audrey!" Sirius threw his hands in the air, and then pointed at her. "You've _seen_ the people he associates with."

"You know why he associates with them?" She hissed, coming towards him. "It's so he's not bullied by his own house like he is by you and James!"

"WELL MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE YOU BEING SO CLOSE TO HIM!"

"SEVERUS WOULD _NEVER_ HARM ME." Audrey shouted, now shaking with anger.

"OH YEAH, I'M SURE WITH HIS PURE BLOODED MANIA HE DEFINITELY WOULDN'T TURN YOU IN IF HE HAD THE CHANCE." Sirius was incredibly sarcastic.

Audrey did not raise her voice, but she walked up to him, dangerously close. Her eyes were black, her voice wavered slightly as she whispered in his ear.

"Not _all_ pure-bloods are like that, Sirius. I thought _you_ of all people would know that."

With that she spun on her heel and sprinted down the hall, she needed to hit the studio before she exploded.


	66. Chapter 66

Thanks for the reviews, Little Old Anonymous Me (thank you! I feel like I really have to with this one, seeing as it's supposed to be cyclical with it's sister story.), Javalon14 (Yeah, I just needed a change. :P), and LizziePixie-Aiko.

This chapter is a little shorter, still writing 67!

Some of you might recognize a part of this chapter from my other story. ;)

**Song credit: U2.**

Review please? It lets me know I have readers… :D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 66

_**From that night onward, Lily and I refused to speak to Sirius or James. Marlene joined us after she had seen Lily's injuries, Sarah decided to stay neutral and be the interpreter. **_

_**October was a very quiet month, for the tension was still there. Sirius and I hadn't broken up – but it sure felt like it. Did it hurt? Does a bee sting hurt? We were both furious with each other, but I believe that I hung onto my fury longer than he did. I was booking a lot of engagements, traveling all over the United Kingdom, Europe, and going out to Australia often to see Blake. When I wasn't traveling, I was learning Paganini's 24**__**th**__** Caprice with Edgar, attending ECO rehearsals, and spending hours in the studio. It wasn't enough of a distraction, my heart ached, and I generally tried to hide it by occupying myself. Which worked…only to an extent.**_

_**November was a cold month, a month of terrible news, news of disappearances began to seep into the cracks of the façade that most of us had been trying to keep up. I cannot speak for everyone, some chose to remain blissfully unaware. Several disappearances started in St. Petersburg…the faces I saw in the papers, I knew them well. I had seen them around the square; I had dined with them at the Café in the square. It chilled me to the bone. What had happened to these people? What was happening in St. Petersburg? **_

_**In December, Lily began to speak to James again. He still apologized every single day. Lily told me that she felt bad, but secretly relished it. For she had never thought James Potter was capable of feeling any guilt. Sirius and I still weren't talking, we were both rather stubborn in our stances. However, in the middle of the month, just before the holidays, Sirius caved, and began writing letters to me. He wrote every day, sometimes more than once a day…**_

Audrey was downstairs with Remus, studying Charms.

"Audrey!" Lily called from their dormitory. "You've gotten another owl from that git!"

"Another?" She yelled up from the common room.

"Yup!" called Lily.

"I'll be right back, Remus." said Audrey, heading upstairs to their dorm.

"You might as well go to bed, Audrey." Said Remus, checking his watch. "It's rather late."

Audrey nodded, and bid the werewolf good night.

"That's the fifth today! What the bloody hell does he want?" She yelled, making her way up the staircase to the 6th floor.

"You've got me." Lily shrugged, going back to reading her book. "I bet he knows you're burning his letters."

"I guess so…" Audrey replied, pacing. "But how…"

Lily shrugged again. "Might as well open it."

Audrey nodded, listening to her friend's advice and unrolling the parchment and clearing her throat getting ready to read. She had always read some of the ridiculous letters Sirius sent to her over the last few years to her dorm mates, they all got a good laugh out of them after all. She mimicked his voice perfectly.

_"Audrey,_

_Humor me. Come to the Three Broomsticks at three tomorrow._

_- Sirius_

_P.S. Stop burning my bloody letters. It's not going to stop me from writing."_

The girls burst out laughing at the post scriptum, chatted some more, and went to bed, all were excited they wouldn't have to wake up early the next morning.

Audrey woke the next morning around noon, and skipped down to the great hall for lunch. The tables were relatively empty, as most of the older students were either in Hogsmeade or somewhere around the castle. She met with Lily and Marlene at the table, both of them still in their pajamas. A few moments later they were joined by Remus and Peter.

"You lads going into Hogsmeade today?" Marlene asked, chewing a bit of bread.

"Yes, we're going to the Three Broomsticks." Remus replied, shooting Audrey a look. Audrey read his expression easily.

"Yes, I got the bloody owl, Remus. What the hell is Sirius doing this time?" Audrey asked, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow.

"It's a surprise apparently." He replied, sipping some juice.

"I bet he's going to propose." Marlene snorted.

"He wouldn't dare." Audrey said simply.

"He's that cocky, he would." Lily replied.

After lunch, the girls went to the library to finish up some of their work before break. Before they knew it was almost three and they rushed to get ready and then left for the small village, Sarah joined them. The sign outside of the Three Broomsticks said "Open Mic today, 3-6 p.m."

"Oh no, you don't think…?" Lily said.

Marlene and Sarah burst out laughing, and Audrey shook her head as the three entered the bar.

"Well, would you look at that!" Marlene whistled, pointing at Sirius. Who was on stage tuning a guitar.

"Just kill me." Audrey said. "Just point your wand at me right now. Just do it." She hit her head with her palm.

"I bet the song is going to sound like 'Oooooh Audrey…your green eyes sparkle in the moonlight!'" Sarah crooned, Lily was cracking up.

Sirius sat down on a stool in the middle of the small stage and gave a small intro. "Hi, I'm Sirius. This song is about a girl, I think the song itself is pretty self explanatory."

Lily elbowed Audrey in the stomach and giggled. Audrey groaned in annoyance, as Sirius started to play smirking.

_"In a little while…Surely you'll be mine…In a little while I'll be there. In a little while This hurt will hurt no more…I'll be home, love!" He was getting really into it, not taking his eyes off of her. "When the night takes a deep breath…and the daylight has no air. If I crawl, if I come crawling home. Will you be there?"_

_"Ah ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh, ah , ah oooooooooooooooh."_

"Why is he howling like that? He sounds like a dog!" Lily whispered, James Potter and Remus burst out laughing at this from the table behind them.

_"In a little while. I won't be blown by every breeze…Friday night running, to Sunday on my knees"_ He held out the last note, still not taking his eyes away from her.

"_That girl, that girl! She's mine. And I've know her since…Since she was a little girl with Spanish eyes…" _Sirius made a suggestive movement with his eyebrows. Lily and Marlene laughed, few people noticed that Audrey's mentor had forced her to change her eye color to that of her mother's.

_"Oh, when I saw her…in a pram they pushed her by. Whoo hoo…My, how you've grown Well it's been, yeah…It's been a little while."_

_"Ah oooooooooh, ah ooooooooooooooooooooh, ah oooooooooooooooooh... Slow down my beating heart…man dreams one day to fly. A man takes a rocketship into the skies. He lives on a star that's dying in the night and follows in the trail the scatter of light."_

_"Turn it ooooooon, Turn it on, You turn me on. Oooh." _Another suggestive movement of the eyebrows, Sirius had a bit of a ravenous expression on his face. Audrey blushed, hiding behind her hands. James started laughing again.

_"Ah oooooooooooh, ah oooooooooooooooooh, ah oooooooooooooooooh...Slow down my beating heart….Slowly, slowly love…Slow down my beating heart. Slowly, slowly love…Slow down my beating heart. Slowly, slowly love."_

**Got her.**


	67. Chapter 67

Bah! Sorry it's been a while, 68 should be coming out shortly.

Thanks for the reviews, Weasleytwinslover87, Little Old Anonymous Me, Thewrittenword87, and LizziePixie-Aiko! :D  
><strong><br>Review please? It lets me know I have readers… :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 67

Audrey waited outside of the Three Broomsticks for Sirius, their friends split off to do some Christmas shopping, knowing the two would probably want some alone time.

Her eyes scanned the snowy village she smiled, it had been a while since she had seen this much snow. It was so peaceful.

**For someone that was **_**so**_** complex, the little things always fascinated her.**

Sirius wore a wolfish grin when he came out, greedily eyeing his girlfriend. She smirked as he came closer; he put his hands on her hips, pulling her closer.

"Miss me?" He said, poking her nose.

"Yes." She said.

"I missed you too." He replied, kissing her forehead. "And I'm sorry. I was a git, and I should trust you, even if I'm wary of the people you consider friends."

Audrey nodded. "And I shouldn't have questioned your own loyalties…"

"It's alright, it was for arguments sake." Sirius nodded. "You made a valid point…and a _scary_ one at that."

Audrey laughed.

"You looked like you didn't have any bloody eyes!" He exclaimed, linking his arm with hers. Audrey laughed.

"As if you haven't seen that before, Sirius." Audrey snorted. He elbowed her lightly.

"Come, love. I need to get Prongs a Christmas present…he's like a _girl_, he's the _hardest_ to shop for sometimes." Sirius said, skipping down the street and dragging Audrey with him, she laughed.

_**Once we returned the castle that evening, we entered the Great Hall for dinner to find all of our friends wearing the most goofy grins.**_

"OI!" Sirius shouted. "What're you lot lookin' at?"

"Just a happy couple, mate." James said cheekily.

"Now we don't have to hear Sirius bitching about how you won't talk to him." Marlene said gleefully, clinking her glass with Remus.

"I was not _bitching_, Marly. I was _whining_. There's a difference." Sirius said. Only the Marauders and Audrey picked up on the reference.

"They're the same thing, Sirius." Marly snorted. "You're such a girl when it comes to these things anyway, it's so obvious Audrey wears the pants in the relationship."

"She does not." Sirius protested.

"I totally do." Audrey said from behind him with a small smile, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Nope."

"Yep"

"Russia." He growled.

"England." Audrey smirked, taking a seat next to Marlene. Sirius sat across from her, next to Remus.

"I think you won this round, Audrey." Remus said, smiling.

At that moment, Omi swooped into the hall, dropped a letter in Audrey's lap, and left.

All of her friends stared at her with questioning looks.

"What?" She said. They all looked at the letter. "I honestly don't know!"

"Perhaps opening it would help." Sirius said with a mocking smile on his features.

"Ta, love." Audrey replied sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Sirius beamed, James snickered.

Audrey opened the envelope…

_"Don't come home for Christmas."_

_**It was handwriting I recognized at once…it was my father's. I wasn't sure how to react to five words. Five very simple, easy words.**_

_**I looked over at the staff table, straight at Albus. He stared back, as if he knew everything. His eyes wandered to the parchment in her hand, and then raised his eyebrows. This was his way of telling me to meet him in his office after dinner.**_

After dinner, everyone began to make their way back to the common rooms.

"Audrey?" a voice brushed in her ear as they walked. She turned to find Sirius lacing his fingers with hers. "Is everything alright?"

Audrey shook her head. "I'm not sure."

Sirius stepped in front of her, their friends were far ahead.

"Not sure?" He cocked his head, taking her hands. Audrey exhaled.

"I just need to go and see the headmaster." Audrey said. "Then I'll explain everything, I promise."

Sirius nodded, sensing not to pry just yet.

"Go." He said, kissing her on the lips and sending her off. He watched as she began to sprint, and then disappeared from sight.


	68. Chapter 68

Thanks for the review, javalon14!

Sorry these were both a bit short…longer ones to come. :] (I also didn't continue on this one because I'm a bit exhausted.)  
><strong><br>Review please? It lets me know I have readers… :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 68

The seconds that it took me to sprint to the Headmaster's office felt like hours.

The gargoyle jumped aside for Audrey, he had stopped bothering to ask her for the password a long time ago. She took the spiral steps two at a time and just as she was about to knock, the door swung open.

"Ah, Audrey." Albus said, as Audrey nearly fell through the doorway. She hadn't quite stopped herself in time. The old man stuck out an arm and caught her. "I had a feeling you'd be coming by soon."

"Yes, sir." Audrey nodded, taking a seat in one of the arm chairs across from his desk. "I just received a rather terse letter from my father…and I wanted to know if you knew anything about it."

Albus studied her for a moment; Audrey couldn't fathom what he was thinking.

"I do." He said, after a long pause, he turned his back to her, and began to pace. Audrey looked at him with rapt attention.

_**His silence was slowly tearing at me.**_

"Sir, please…Why did my father send me this?" Audrey pleaded, his back was to her. He stared out the window.

"Audrey, are you aware what is going on in the world outside of this school?" He asked, only half turning.

"No, sir." Audrey admitted. "I have been so busy with work, gigs, dance…Edgar has told me that it is best I don't know. But I have seen nothing in the Profit."

"The Profit choses not to report things like this, Audrey."

Before Audrey could inquire any further, he turned around.

"The number of disappearances has been incredible…" Albus' blue eyes searched her. "I am surprised you have not sensed it. It's in your blood."

I did not realize at the time what he was talking about…

"As I have said sir, I have been busy…" Audrey said, shocked by his behavior.

"Not a feeling at all?"

"Not that I can recall sir."

"No visions, shortness of breath, stabbing pain…?" Albus questioned, studying the girl.

"I used to have dreams, before that Christmas…but since then, I have not seen anything." Audrey said in a dead voice. Talking about Christmas was still painful.

"You had dreams before St. Petersburg?" Albus turned to fully face her, a surprised expression on his features. One Audrey had never seen before.

She turned away, pressing her lips together and trying to blink back tears quickly.

_**I scolded myself for mentioning that. It only lead me to so much trouble in the end.**_

"Audrey." Albus said calmly, taking her chin and bringing her head foreword. "Why haven't you said anything?"

"Because it wouldn't have made a difference!" Audrey blurted out, fighting herself for control.

"Audrey." Albus said softly. "You are a very rare breed, literally one of a kind…"

"I am so tired of hearing that." Audrey said quietly, her voice shaking.

_**It was true, I had been told that my entire life. It was supposed to be something someone would say to you to make you feel special, to make you feel loved…but for me, it was a curse. A mark of certain death, for this not only made me a target, but every single being that I held dear. Everyone that associated with me, everyone that held my secret, everyone that protected it from **__them__**.**_

"Deep down, you know it is the truth, Audrey." Albus replied. "What happened in St. Petersburg is not your fault."

"Not my fault?" Audrey replied quietly. "Vladimir Morozov knew the secret that my family has been hiding from me. He knew, and I don't even know. This secret is about me, and because Vladimir knew it, he killed my family. How can you even argue that this ordeal isn't my fault?"

Albus looked at her forlornly, shaking his head.

"In time, Audrey…you will know exactly what I mean."

Audrey cast her eyes to the floor; she didn't want to think about it anymore.

Albus decided to divert back to the original subject. "Creatures of all kinds have been disappearing. Including quite a large number that lived in your community."

Audrey sighed, cradling her head in her hands. It was not the news she wanted to hear…it was not something she wanted to think about.

"Isaac told you not to come home, because no one is there."

Audrey's head snapped up at this.

"Your father and mother, like the rest of your community after sending their children away, destroyed your home and left it. They are currently staying in a colony-"

"Where?" Audrey blurted out.

"I cannot say." Albus said. "These walls may be safe, but with you traveling in and out of them, we don't know what can be intercepted."

"Intercepted?" Audrey questioned.

"From here." Albus tapped his head. "One can never be too careful, Audrey. But we will talk about this another day."

_**My grandfather used to tell me old Russian tales of evil wizards who stole the thoughts out of other's minds.**_

"Albus, where are my parents?" Audrey said, desperate.

"I am sorry, Ms. Dalio. I cannot say." Albus clasped a hand on her shoulder. "I can tell you that they are coming here for Christmas though, to be with you. They will be staying in the West Wing."

_**Nothing with Albus Dumbledore could ever be simple…why he had to string me along and put me through so much emotional turbulence was beyond me. **_


	69. Chapter 69

Thanks for the reviews, javalon14, LizziePixie-Aiko, and Weasleytwinslover87! :D

I have no idea why I publish at odd hours of the evening…ah well. :P

**Review please? It lets me know I have readers…**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 69

After a few more words, Audrey bid the Headmaster a good evening and set off for the Gryffindor common room. Sirius was sitting on the sofa, reading his Charms textbook and waving his wand. Audrey always found it funny when humans studied with their wands, especially when it was Sirius. For Sirius Black "did _not_ study."

She tiptoed towards the sofa and placed her hands over his eyes. Sirius quickly tore one of her hands from his eye and kissed it.

"I was beginning to think the Headmaster had eaten you, love." He planted kisses up her arm. "Come join me." He said, holding her hand. She gave him a small smile and nod, and sat next to him on the couch. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"Everything alright?" Sirius murmured.

"Not really." Audrey replied, looking up at him.

"Did Dumbledore give you a rough time?" Sirius shifted to get a better look at her.

Audrey blinked back tears. "Not at all…I mean, it…it was just a lot of head games and avoidance. He managed to pry some information from me just by changing subject."

Sirius was thoughtful. "Perhaps he just wanted to make sure everything was out in the open. I mean, you study with him all the time."

"I suppose…but it wasn't entirely relevant to what I was even asking." Audrey said, taking the small piece of parchment from her pocket and giving it to Sirius. "The reason I went to his office is because my father sent me this."

He looked just as perplexed as she did when she first read it.

"Why would your father say such a thing? Are you sure it was-"

"Yes, Sirius. I am _positive_ it was from my father. But I went to the Headmaster to verify it. He's been very close with my father for as long as I can remember." Audrey replied, thinking back to the day in Saint James Park years ago.

"So what did Dumbledore say then?"

"When I asked him if he knew why, he said he did…but he took so long to answer. He knew, and he was just holding this information from me. He asked me if I knew anything that was going on in the outside world."

"What did you say?"

"I told him I only knew what I saw in the Profit…and we know that's not an entirely valuable source of news. He then said he was surprised that I didn't _feel_ it."

Sirius nodded. Audrey then began to explain how Albus had asked her about visions, how she told him of her dreams.

He remembered the summer before the St. Petersburg Massacre, the first morning Audrey was at James'…

_"So Audrey, how did you sleep last night?" James asked, casually. Naturally he wanted to refer to Sirius carrying her to her room the previous night._

_Audrey gave a tiny shrug._

_"Not too well, I had some dream that someone was talking to me, after that I had repetitive nightmares of screaming and flashing red and green lights."_

_"Well, I'm sure it was just a dream." Sirius said soothingly, after a few moments of awkward silence._

_"I suppose so…" Audrey replied, taking some toast. "It just felt so real."_

"I remember you saying that at James'…" Sirius said, coming out of his trance. Audrey nodded, a little surprised that he remembered that far back. It was before they were dating.

"He told me, I was rare…like everyone else does." Audrey spat, a little annoyed. "All they care about is my _powers_, my _breeding_…what I can _do_…"

Sirius took her hand, not sure what to say. Sadly, it was the truth.

"He told me that creatures were disappearing…a lot of them lived in my community. I asked him again, where my parents were and he finally told me."

"Are they alright?" Sirius asked. She nodded.

"After they sent me to James' house, they destroyed ours and left…like everyone else had. Albus said that they're staying in a banshee colony, but wouldn't tell me where."

"Do you have a place to go for the holidays?" Sirius asked quickly. "If not, I'll stay here with you, or Henry and Elly would take you in a heartbeat you know."

Audrey blushed and gave him a small smile. "You are too good to me. Sirius. Albus finally told me at the end of our little chat that my parents would be staying in the West Wing for a few days to see me during the holidays. Apparently a lot of creatures are being housed in Hogwarts and Beauxbatons due to the crimes going on outside…"

Sirius sighed, relieved. "I can't believe the old man strung you on like that."

"I know." Audrey replied, nestling into him. "It was exhausting, honestly."

"I'm exhausted for you." Sirius said, she gave a small laugh.

_**The last two weeks of term went by in mere seconds, and before I knew it, I was saying goodbye to my friends. I must admit, I envied humans, **especially** at this point in my life. For they could go back to their homes and not worry about their families being torn apart, or their homes being obliterated. They did not have to worry about being attacked when they slept, they didn't have a care in the world…**_

_**I had never stayed at the school for the holidays, with the exception of the Yule Ball, but I do not like to be reminded of it. Or think of it.**_

_**Everything was barren, very few stayed behind that year, Severus was one of them. Everyone else that I encountered, especially in the West Wing – was far from human. **__**Vampires, Banshees, Werewolves, Goblins…**_

_**As I walked through the West Wing, they watched me…they whispered things...**_

"_That's her." __**They would say.**_

"Audrey!" said a voice in the crowd. Edgar emerged.

"There you are, love. Come, this way." He said, taking her hand and leading her through the crowd, they all watched her.

They walked around the corner, and into the guest quarters that Hisoka once inhabited while she stayed in the castle.

"Edgar…why were they all…" Audrey began to ask, but was baffled.

"Audrey, you've been alive 16 years and you don't know the answer to that question?" Edgar asked, looking at her.

"I know the answer but it's a ridiculous reason. I'm no differen-"

Edgar gave her a look. "You really want to argue that? You come from the only family of creatures that has been crossbred with almost every other species of creature…and you're more powerful. They have a reason to stare, Audrey."

"More powerful…" Audrey snorted. "Hardly." After all, her father was definitely stronger than she was.

_**Edgar was different from Hisoka, he called me by my real name, and he didn't care when I did anything that wasn't considered proper. As long as I didn't do it while entertaining…**_

The quarters were very different from the last time she had been inside. The colors were still red and gold, but the furniture was different, accommodating for more people.

"We're back!" Edgar called.

Audrey was immediately blindsided by a mass of black hair.

"My Audrey." Airleas said, kissing her forehead a few times. She held her at arms length. "Look at you! You look so different."

_**It had been nearly four months since my mother last saw me…was I really that different?**_

"You look a lot like your grandmother." Isaac said, appearing in the doorway.

"Which one?" Audrey asked.

"Maimeó" He replied. Airleas nodded in agreement.

"The resemblance is striking." She said, playing with a strand of Audrey's hair.

"Minus the green skin, of course." Isaac chimed in.

_**Christmas was a rather odd affair; we celebrated with the other guests of the wing. I suppose it was for the best really, it would be a bit of a shock for the students staying in the school to see all of us. Though Albus encouraged interspecies relations, I don't think he wanted to scare them. Or expose us to any Slytherin students staying behind…other than Severus, of course.**_

_**All of them were only allowed three days, it was cruel. Worrying for them made me feel so ill.**_

"But why?" Audrey asked in their native tongue, following her father around as he packed up.

"We all must be on the move, Audrina." replied Isaac. "The world is not safe for our kind anymore."

"Our kind, or all kind?" Audrey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Both." Isaac said sternly, closing a suitcase and giving her a look that said 'Do not press any further.'

"Couldn't you at least tell me where you'll be? What colony?" Audrey pleaded.

Isaac shook his head, closing his suitcase.


	70. Chapter 70

Hello, readers! I'm so excited…doing _**a lot**_ of plot scheming and such. :) Things are pulling back together and ends are being tied up, I've been writing ahead a bit as well.

Thanks for the reviews, javalon14, Weasleytwinslover87, and thewrittenword87! :D

If I don't publish 71 tonight, it will be published tomorrow.

**Reviews are like tacos, they're awesome. ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 70

"He wants to teach you Occlumency."

"Master Snape should be sitting down, let Hokey cook, sir!" squeaked an elf.

"It's fine, Hokey. Really, you should take a break, you do enough." Severus replied, waving him off.

"Master Snape is too kind!"

"Occlu-what?" Audrey asked, stirring a pot while looking at Severus.

_**After everyone had left, I spent all of the time that wasn't devoted to practicing with Edgar with Severus. We had taken to going into the kitchens and cooking, it was something we both enjoyed to do but had never done together. After Sirius and I patched things up, we saw each other less and less…it was back to the old routine. More time with Sirius, less with Severus. For there would never be a truce between them, not one that I would live to see…**_

"Occlumency." He repeated, adding something to the pot. "It's the art of closing one's mind off to a Legillimens."

"Severus, are you speaking the Queen's English right now?"

"Why would it matter, you're Russian." Severus retorted with a smirk, Audrey laughed.

"The point is…I've never heard of this art form." Audrey said, crossing her arms.

"The point _is_, the Headmaster has hinted at the idea that he's probably going to teach you Occlumency."

"Sev, I honestly don't see why. I don't bloody know where my parents are, and I haven't the slightest idea what this big secret is that got my whole family killed." Audrey said bitterly, adding something else to the pot, and turning back to him.

_**At that time, Severus and I had spent the last two years searching for legends, myths, anything that could lead me in the right direction of finding out the family secret. I don't know why I was so foolish…certain secrets should **not** be let loose. They should stay caged like the monsters they are. I thought that if I knew what they had died for, coping with the loss would be easier. Coping with the idea that it had been a constant variable in my life would have been easier**_.

"I don't know either, Audrey. But Dumbledore knows more than we think he does. That's for certain." Severus said, his eyes then traveled to the pot behind her and then he pushed past her.

It was bubbling a lot, and then…

_WHOOSH_.

A brief cloud of smoke.

Audrey and Severus looked at each other.

"Uhm…Sev?"

"Yes, Audrey?"

"You're eyebrows are gone."

"So are yours."

They stared at each other again, and then burst out laughing.

_**January came and went, along with February and March, April was a blur. Life was moving faster and faster, and news of terrible things began to surface more and more. The Prophet was filled with news of Centaurs turning up mutilated all around the country, killed in the cruelest of ways. News of all sorts of colonies vanishing into smoke. The Cahir colony, where my mother had taught in previous summers, was obliterated in a terrible fire. Were they there? They could have been anywhere…**_

_**And I had no idea if they were even alive.**_

"Are you alright, Ayla?" Blake asked, as he twirled her around on the dance floor. Audrey had accompanied Blake to the Australian Wizarding Society Ball. She also was the featured soloist that night.

The ball room was large, glass windows and doors surrounded it. The ceiling had intricate gold and silver tiles creating a circular pattern. A large waterfall chandelier hung from the ceiling

Audrey gave him a small smile. "Yes, Blake. I was just reminiscing of something."

"And what would that be?" He asked, pulling her closer.

"I was just thinking about the first time we met." Audrey replied dreamily. She felt guilty that she was lying to him, but he believed her.

"It was quite something." Blake grinned, twirling her around again. She laughed.

_**Blake Williams had to be my favorite out of all of the clients I had. He was something else entirely, he was a good soul…and at times, I felt like the most terrible being on the planet for leading him on in such a fashion. He obviously knew that we could never be together, and I knew that this was what my profession entailed, but that did not put me at ease.**_

_**Any fears I had with Hisoka leaving me were quickly extinguished, for with Edgar at my side, my career began to take off. Though he always claimed that it was my doing, which wasn't entirely true. I felt that he was at least my good luck charm.**_

"Everyone! May I have your attention please?" said a man, stopping the band that was currently playing. The dancers stopped, not a single person moved.

"There has been a _terrible_ attack in Perth, we don't know what is happening, but there are 90 dead. We're ending early tonight, please evacuate in an orderly fashion and do not panic."

"Perth?" Audrey asked, looking at Blake. "That's not far from here."

"An hour and a half at least…" Blake nodded, the two turned as Edgar ran up to them.

"Best be going." He said, extending a hand to Audrey.

"Edgar…my cello…" Audrey's eyes widened.

"Already sent it back." Edgar said, Audrey breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good bye, Blake. Safe travels." She said, holding his hand for a moment.

"You too." He replied, kissing her on the cheek.

_Crack_…

_Thud_.

The magnificent glass chandelier fell to the floor, the building was shaking.

"GO!" Blake said pushing Audrey into Edgar's arms and taking out his wand like the rest of the men there.

"I-"

Audrey couldn't finish her sentence, Edgar held her tightly and everything was spinning.

They landed in Edgar's quarters, and were greeted by Albus, who sat in an arm chair by the fire, reading.

"I take it you've heard about Perth?" Edgar asked, dusting himself off and helping Audrey up from the floor.

"Yes, Edgar. Quite grave indeed. I am so sorry that this interrupted your night, Audrey. I understand it was quite a big occasion. "

"No need to apologize, sir." Audrey replied, giving a small bow. It was so habitual with Hisoka it was hard not to do now-a-days. "I had finished performing hours ago…though it is such a shame, it was a rather lovely ballroom. I hope everyone is alright."

"I am sure that they will be fine. Many of the men and women that stayed behind are not only skilled on the Quidditch field, but skilled in duel." Albus said, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Sir, what day is it?" Audrey asked.

"It is nearly midnight, so it is still January 4th." Albus replied with an all-knowing smile. The Hogwarts Express returned to Hogsmeade the next day, with all of Audrey's friends on it.

Audrey thanked the Headmaster, gave Edgar a bow, and said good night to the two.


	71. Chapter 71

Thanks for the reviews, Weasleytwinslover87 and Javalon14! :D

Answering Javalon14's question: This story is going to go all the way up to the beginning of Anastasia's story.

I promised a published chapter, however this one might be shorter than usual. Sorry. D:

Long story short, I've been running around a lot the last few days, I'm going away for the next six days, working at a summer camp through my school. So I've been scrambling around packing, preparing, getting my work hours, etc.

I won't be publishing again until next Saturday evening, or Sunday. (The 30th or the 1st)

I owe you all some long-long chapters when I get back. XD

**Review please? It lets me know I have readers… **

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

Chapter 71

"Bloody hell. Can you believe it?" said James, with his hand and head pressed up against the glass. His friends joined him as they watched the hills and the trees roll by.

"I can." Said Remus. "Quite the load, this year."

"Definitely." Lily agreed, putting down the book she was reading.

After two weeks of grueling final examinations, they were officially done with their sixth year.

"I just can't believe we only have one year left." Sarah said in awe.

"Don't remind me!" Marly whined. "I'm going to get all teary again."

"_Oooh_, I'm Marlene and I cry every year school ends." said James in a girly voice.

"_OW_!"

Marlene punched him in the arm.

"Reeeeemus!" James whined.

"Yes, James?" Remus said, looking up from his paper. Audrey giggled, he reminded her so much of a father figure when he spoke in such a tone.

"Marly hit me!"

"And?"

"Remus, mate! C'mon!"

"You were making fun of my Marlene, James." Remus said, smirking. "You deserved it."

Marlene grinned in satisfaction, and James mumbled something about 'being whipped.'

"So what are everyone's plans for the summer?" asked Sarah.

"This one." Said Sirius, nodding his head towards James.

"Your plan is _James_?" Sarah cocked her head.

"Yes." Sirius said, in an 'isn't it obvious' tone.

"Oookay then." Sarah said, giving Sirius a look as if he were crazy. The two stared at each other for a moment, then laughed.

"Sirius is staying with me, seeing as he's officially emancipated from that hell hole." James said, kicking his feet up on the seat across from him. "Which also means you lot should visit, Mum and Dad already mentioned it."

"When?" Remus asked, not looking up from his paper.

"Two or three weeks from now, probably." Said James. "Still working on the dates."

"Audrey, when d'you get back from your trip?" Marlene asked.

"Don't remind me." Sirius whined.

"Bloody hell, Sirius. You're like a needy dog." Marlene shot back. "Ye can't go two weeks without seeing her?"

"Nope." Sirius replied, popping the 'p'. "And you couldn't either, Marlene. We see you two when you're reunited."

"You're obviously cheating on Remus and Sirius and dating each other." said James.

"The only people in a closeted relationship in this compartment are you and Sirius." said Audrey.

James was about to fire back when Sirius put his hand over his mouth.

"I think they won that battle, mate. But anyway, it's going to be a rough two weeks." He pulled Audrey onto his lap.

"It'll go by before you know it." Audrey replied, poking his nose. He stuck his tongue out at her. James rolled his eyes, and Sirius laughed.

"Where exactly are you going?" asked Peter.

"She's not allowed to know." said Remus. "Audrey's parents, like many other creatures, have been in hiding. Most of their children are either in schools for creatures or somewhere else. A lot of families have been separated with all that's been happening." Remus seemed a little bitter about it.

Audrey nodded. "I am not allowed to know where they're staying, and I am not allowed to communicate with them."

She had only found out that she was permitted to see her parents two weeks prior. After studying for hours on end, she couldn't avoid the subject any longer.

"_I'll be right back, love." Audrey said to Sirius, getting up from the table._

"_Where are you going?" He asked._

"_I'm just going to go take a stroll. I'll be back in about 15 minutes or so." She said, over her shoulder. Sirius took her arm and pulled her back towards him, his breath tickled her ear._

"_Do I have permission to come with you?"_

"_That's rather suggestive."_

"_You catch on quick, love."_

"_You don't, sadly." Audrey replied. "It's private matters, I need to go speak with Edgar. But when I get back…" She gave him a suggestive look and then left the library._

_Audrey made her way towards the Headmaster's office, after a few days of relentlessly asking him about her parents, Edgar had told her to go see the Headmaster._

"_Ahh! Audrey!" said Albus, opening the door before she even had the chance to knock. "What brings you here on this lovely day? Shouldn't you be studying for exams?"_

"_Taking a break, sir." Audrey replied as she stepped into his office. "I had to ask you something…"_

"_You came to ask me about your parents and whether you'll be seeing them this summer." Albus stated, his blue eyes watching her. She nodded, not even shocked by the Headmaster's amazing knowledge anymore. Somehow, Albus Dumbledore knew everything._

"_You will see them." Albus said. "Your father arranged that I take you to them after term ends."_

_Audrey was about to speak, but Albus held up his hand._

"_You will take the Hogwarts Express to London, meet Edgar who will be in disguise. Together, you will meet me in Godric's Hollow at Edgar's cottage. From there, you and I will apparate to your parents."_

"_How long?" Audrey asked._

"_Two weeks." Albus replied. "But from what I understand, you have a big summer ahead of you."_

_Edgar had told Audrey earlier that week that they would be doing a lot of traveling._

_**I couldn't tell if we were just doing a lot of traveling because I wasn't safe, or for my career. Perhaps it was both…**_

"_Yes, sir." Audrey nodded. "But I would like to spend as much time with my family as possible."_

_Albus nodded. "We can arrange other visits after your first."_

"_Thank you, sir." Audrey said, leaving the office._

_**While I was on the train, listening to everyone talk about their homes, I wondered what home would even be this summer. Or where it would even be.**_

Down the hall from their compartment, there was a scream…


	72. Chapter 72

Yes, I'm aware that this is not June 30th…when I originally intended to publish. I'm rather scatterbrained, and I've been a bit busy unfortunately.

Though I'm fortunate to say this has rarely happened to me, I want to address something that's gone on with another author on this site, PleaOfInsanity. She wrote really great stories, and has recently decided to take one of hers down due to a shitty anonymous review (or a few of them, I'm not sure…but this particular review was over the line.) You can go to her story, Destined To Explode (which was a really great story might I add, it's a shame that she's taking it down.) and read about it. But I just want to say, and I know **most of you already know this**, but be kind in your reviews to people's stories. Sometimes people get really busy, and studies, jobs, and other things take precedent before publishing.

Anyway, here's a longer chapter than the last few. I've got a lot of stuff pre-written and planned out so it's just a matter of getting to a certain point, which will be coming about in the next chapter.

Thanks for the reviews, javalon14, LizziePixieAiko, and BlueBubbleRainbowBoat (that is the cutest name ever! :3) :D

_**If you like tacos, I think you should review. ;D**_

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

Chapter 72

Audrey snapped out of her reverie, she sat up right. Her eyes wide, she noticed all of her friends wore similar expressions of curiosity and confusion.

The train was shaking violently now, the lights flickered. Remus pulled Marlene into him; Lily fumbled for James hand in the dark. Normally, Sirius and Audrey would exchange an amused look at this, but now wasn't the time or place.

"What do you think that was?" Audrey asked, pulling out her wand. Though she never used her wand, she had to use it for show. Sirius always thought it was funny, but in a situation like this, they could never be too careful. She couldn't be exposed.

Another scream pierced the air.

"I don't know." Said James, standing up, "But I say we should go find out."

"I'm with you, mate." Said Sirius, rolling up his sleeves. "Something isn't right here."

"Watch out, we've got a genius on board." Said Marlene, sarcastic. Even in tense times, she pulled out her wit.

Sirius gave Marlene a glare as the lights went out. James slid open the compartment door quietly, Sirius was about to follow.

"Wait." Audrey whispered. Sirius turned around, raising an eyebrow.

The screams were coming more and more

"I'm going with you." She said.

"No, you're not." Sirius shook his head. "We don't know what's out there. And if James and I for some reason don't come back…"

"You'd come back if Audrey were with you." Said Marlene, giving the boys a look. Remus nodded.

"Fine, Russia" James said. "But if you turn into a damsel in distress…"

"I _won't_, James." said Audrey flashed her eyes in the dark, giving him a look.

"Don't do that." Sirius said quietly. "I don't want you to be given away."

Audrey nodded, and the three left the compartment. They quietly made their way down the hallway, following the screams. Only one of them kept their wand lit, they didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

The screams became louder as they walked towards the end of the train.

"What d'you think it is?" Audrey whispered, barely audible.

"I don't know…but whoever it is, they've stopped the train." said James.

"Someone must've gotten on board" said Sirius.

_**The screams had become more frequent as we moved closer, so much so, that they had blended in with all other sound around me. The sound of nervous shuffling in the compartments, whispers, and silence…**_

"No shit, Merlin." shot James. Sirius elbowed him. Audrey gave both of them a look and took the lead now, dragging the two along.

"Any idea what's going on?" Susan Bones asked, popping out of her compartment.

"Not a clue, Suzie." James shook his head. "We're going to investigate."

Making their way down the hallway seemed to take ages, and the screams were still there. Echoing.

"How long d'you reckon we've been stopped?" Sirius asked.

"A half hour at least." Replied Audrey.

They kept walking, after a few minutes, James spoke.

"It's stopped."

"What's-" Sirius began but Audrey cut him off.

"The screaming."

The train shook again; it felt as though a massive group was on board now. Audrey opened the last car door to find a bunch of Ministry officials.

The three stood on their toes, looking over shoulders. Audrey was horrified at what she saw.

Annie McGillan, a Hufflepuff in their year, was frozen on the floor. Her eyes stared into nothing.

"_Did you hear anything, Audrina?_" Her father asked, gently shaking her from her reverie.

Audrey had just arrived a few hours ago in an unknown colony, just as the sun was setting. She had two weeks there to visit her parents, who were constantly in travel around the world. They were on the run, like many creatures. If they stayed too long in one place, they would be found.

"_No, Papa."_ Audrey shook her head. _"After we saw her, a man shooed us from the compartment."_

_**I couldn't comprehend why someone would kill Annie…she had done nothing wrong. She spoke of no negativity towards anyone.  
><strong>_

"_The aurors stayed on the train?"_

"_Yes."_

"Isaac, let's stop talking about this." Airleas said. "We hear enough terrible news daily."

"I'm sorry, my love." He apologized.

"So, what is this place?" Audrey asked.

Airleas shook her head. "We cannot tell you, we do not speak its name to anyone. None here know it's name"

Audrey looked outside of the tent.

_**There were all sorts of creatures there, you see… It was a refugee camp, and it wasn't the only one. There were thousands across the earth, spread among the countries and continents. The others that were there were beaten, battered, and broken. Families were torn apart, orphans crying in the darkness.**_

"So it is nameless?"

"They all are." Said Isaac. "Why bother naming camps for the beaten and dying?"

"But you are not beaten or dying." Audrey said, looking at her parents. A flicker of fear in her eyes.

"We are not." Airleas nodded. "But most here are. They travel here healthy, but are caught along the ways. Most of them have just barely escaped."

_**I couldn't tell if the world had just become more chaotic and violent as I grew older, or if this really was the world and I had just been sheltered from it this whole time.**_

_**Time…it always seemed to rob me of those I loved. The two weeks went by instantly, and before I knew it I was back at Edgar's cottage.**_

Audrey landed on the floor with a thud, as soon as she looked up, Dumbledore had dissapparated. Edgar sat in an armchair, reading a book.

"I always know it's you, just by the way you land." He said, looking up.

"Ta, Ed." Audrey said, sarcastically, brushing herself off. He grinned, baring his fangs.

_**As soon as I had returned from the refugee camp, I went to the Potter's for a week. Then Edgar and I left for Tokyo. Edgar was a guest soloist with the Tokyo Philharmonic for a few concerts, and I was entertaining a few businessmen. We wandered the city in our spare time, and I even caught a glimpse of a familiar friend. She did not have time to stop and talk…after all, she had to play her part.**_

_**I traveled with Edgar for about two months straight, after Tokyo, I was sent off to Australia for a week with Blake. Edgar remained in the shadows, he watched from outside, guarding. It was a week of entertaining, accompanying him to events, but most of the time, we just sat at the beach a few feet from his home. It was peculiar compared to the life I normally lead as an entertainer. For the last time I sat in the sand and listened to the waves, I was visiting the Cahir colony with my mother. That was so long ago…and now that colony was just ash. Then it was onto Canada, France, Germany, Poland, and Finland…**_

_**By the time I returned to England, it was late August, and naturally I went straight to the Potter residence…**_

Audrey was about to lift the lion shaped knocker when the door burst open and a mass of black hair knocked her over.

"Get off!" Audrey laughed, shoving the black dog off of her. He barked happily.

"Great way to be greeted by your boyfriend, as a dog." James snorted, coming to the door. Sirius transformed.

"Honestly." Audrey said, putting her hands on her hips and giving Sirius a stern look. Her face then broke into a grin and she hugged him tightly.

"Can we go inside now? I'm going to puke." James gagged.

"Is that Audrey?" called a voice she knew well.

"Hi Remus!" She called.

He was by her side in seconds; James muttered something about Remus being a werewolf and fast. Audrey grinned.

"So Audrey, did you hear the news?" Remus asked, looking at her.

"No…" She said, looking between the three boys. "What's going on?"

James reached into his pocket and flashed a gold pin at Audrey.

"SHUT. UP. " She said, her jaw dropping. "SHUT UP, JAMES POTTER! SHUT UP!"

"I didn't say anything, Russia!" James grinned.

The boys laughed.

"No…" Audrey said in disbelief.

"Yes." said Sirius.

"I don't believe you." Audrey said, eyes wide.

"Believe it." said Remus. "James Potter is a prefect."

"How in the hell? Who…who would trust you with that responsibility?" Audrey asked.

"Dumbledore, apparently." said James, in a know-it-all voice.

"Did you tell the others yet?"

"Well, we obviously told Peter. Marlene knows, Puffer knows." Said Sirius.

"…And Lily?

James and Sirius exchanged a grin.

"We'll tell Evans when we see her on the train." James replied.

"Lily's not coming?" Audrey cocked her head.

"Nope." Sirius said. "Neither is Puffer. McKinnon should be here soon though."

As if on cue, there was a small bang in the kitchen.

"That must be Marly rolling in. Excuse me." Remus said, pushing past his friends.

James, Audrey, and Sirius made their way to the kitchen, where of course, Remus and Marlene were snogging.

"Ahem." James said.

"That wasn't even clearing your throat." Audrey said quietly, nudging him.

"Yes, it was!"

"No, it wasn't. You just vocalized what it sounds like to clear your throat!"

"It has the same affect, Russia!"

Audrey was about to snap back but Marlene called. "You lot done over there?"

"Yes, mum." James and Audrey said together.


	73. Chapter 73

This is a fast moving chapter, for the last 5 or 6 chapters I've published I've been trying to move this story forward because there is still a lot to come in a short-ish amount of time. There's a bit of a play on Dumbledore's speech from the Goblet of Fire movie in this chapter.

Thanks for the reviews, javalon14, BlueBubbleRainbowBoat, thewrittenword87, and Weasleytwinslover87! :D  
><strong><br>If you like tacos, I think you should review. ;D**  
><strong><br>DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 73

_**September…**_

"This is our last train ride to Hogwarts…_EV-ER_." Sarah exclaimed.

"Don't remind me!" Lily whined, looking out the window and watching the landscape roll by.

"It's surreal, isn't it?" Remus said, in thought.

"Incredibly." Sirius breathed.

"Did you see all of the first years?" James asked.

Some of the group shook their heads.

"I did." said Remus. "They looked absolutely petrified."

"I don't blame them." Audrey said, looking out the compartment window for a moment, making sure that no one was listening. "People are still talking about what happened last June."

"Poor Annie." Marlene lamented. "Did they ever say what happened?"

"No." Remus spat. "The Prophet covered it up. They said it was an accident."

"Dumbledore must be enraged." Audrey said, looking out the window. The sky became greyer and greyer as the train moved on.

**The atmosphere in the Great Hall was so different that year, the tension was thick like smoke.**

"Now that we are all sorted and settled, I'd like to address something." said the Headmaster, rising from his chair.

"You may have been wondering why there were several aurors on the train as you all traveled here today. Last June, when almost all of you were headed back to King's Cross Station, the train stopped during the trip. And Annie McGillian, a student from the Hufflepuff house, was tortured to death."

Whispers and murmurs flooded the hall, the Headmaster spoke again.

"The Ministry," Dumbledore began, the room fell silent. "Would not want me to speak of such things, they wouldn't want me to tell you about what happened to her. But I think that's an insult to Annie's memory."

The hall was still silent, as the Headmaster paced.

"I am telling you all this, because it would be a crime to shelter you from what is going on outside of Hogwarts. There are dark forces coming our way, and we best be united when they do…otherwise those that we've lost-"

His eyes flickered to Audrey for a brief moment.

"like Annie, will have died in vain."

_**Our seventh year of school seemed to be hurtling by us in a blur. All sorts of things were going on around us, with James as Head Boy, and Lily as Head Girl things began to get interesting. After years of pestering, Lily had finally agreed to go on a date with James in October, much to Severus' dismay. Of course, all of us who had known Lily quite well, teased her relentlessly.**_

"Whatever happened to…_James Potter is a toad and I will never ever give him that satisfaction_?" asked Marlene, mimicking Lily's prim voice.

Her face went red, matching her hair.

_**The months were seconds, between traveling extensively to work and perform, and studying for the NEWTS. Before I blinked, December was upon us.**_

Audrey stood in the hallway outside of the Gryffindor common room, she stared out the window, watching heavy snow plummet to the earth.

"It's lovely, isn't it?" said a voice she adored. Sirius came and stood next to her, holding her hand.

Audrey nodded, still watching the snow.

**I was always so amused about how she enjoyed the snow. Her eyes always lit up (Err…not in the literal sense…in the **_**metaphorical **_**one**_**.**_**) when she saw snow.**

"You still haven't told me where you're going for Christmas, love." His lips brushed her hand, he was concerned. "Are you sure you've got a place to stay?

She smiled at him, taking his head and giving him a peck on the lips.

"I have a place to go." Audrey smiled. "Dumbledore told me the other day."

"_Sir? What did you want me for?" Audrey asked, opening the door to the Headmaster's office carefully. He sat behind his desk beaming._

"_Sit down, Miss Dalio."_

_Audrey obeyed._

"_I just wanted to let you know that you will be with your parents for the holidays."_

"_In the castle again?" Audrey cocked her head._

"_Outside of the school." Albus said evenly, knowing this would excite the girl. Audrey's eyes turned a peculiar shade of pink, she wore a huge grin._

"_Really?"_

"_Yes, Audrey." Albus chuckled._

"_But how?"_

"Your father wrote to me, explaining that he was tired of '_bytʹ trusom'-"_

_"Being a coward." Audrey laughed._

_Dumbledore continued. "And he wanted out of the refugee camp. A lot of creatures have left the colonies and camps, they are tired of living in fear."_

_"What happens now? What will happen to them if...?" Audrey asked, her eyes searching him._

"_A war is coming." Albus replied. "And we must be ready for it."_

"So your parents moved back to your old home?" Sirius asked. Audrey shook her head.

"No, when everyone left the community...they torched it, they wanted to make it look like devastation had already been there. To throw them off…"

"How will you know where to find your parents then?" Sirius asked, concerned.

"Edgar is meeting me at King's Cross, and he is taking me to them." Audrey replied. "They still believe it's best that their location isn't just revealed to everyone. They've built a new community, but they don't trust the Ministry."

Sirius snorted. "Honestly, who _does _trust the Ministry?"

_**He had a point, the Ministry could not be trusted…they were infiltrated by the demons, and thus they were demons themselves. **__**The community that my parents, and several others from our former home had occupied was incredibly different. I had thought that our old community was heavily wooded, but the forests here were very dense. It made a good hiding spot for creatures, and their homes. Though extra precautious and charms had been put in place, it was much safer this way. No one left their homes past sun down, unless it was important. Scavengers and snatchers came through the forests at night, and we watched them from our windows. We could see them, but they could not see us. Eventually, the daylight would not be safe enough…after all; these monsters could survive the sunlight.**_

_**February…**_

"Sooo…the big day is coming up." Marlene said, as the three girls left the dance studio one evening.

"The…big day?" Audrey cocked her head, amused.

"You know."

"No." said Audrey and Sarah together.

Marlene stopped in front of them, looking at the two.

"Valentine's Day." She said, doing jazz hands.

"Ahh, right." Said Sarah.

Audrey burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Marlene asked, as they continued to walk.

"I just thought of James and Lily." Audrey said, laughing so hard tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"And?" Sarah asked, confused.

"James is going to be SO GUSHY. And Lily is going to be so skeeved out by that." Audrey stopped, holding her sides. The girls joined in laughing.

"I-hadn't even- thought of that!" Sarah howled. Marlene leaned up against a wall, shaking with silent laughter.

"Oh, am _I _going to tease her." She said, grinning.

"So Sarah, seeing as Valentine's day falls on a weekend and all…" Audrey said, giving Puffer a suggestive look.

"Is your _French baguette_ coming to visit?" Marlene growled. Audrey gave her a funny look, and then looked at Sarah.

"You call him…your _baguette_?"

"Think about it for a moment." Sarah said flatly, giving her a look.

"Ahhh." Audrey said, realizing.

"But if you must know." Sarah said, changing the subject. "I am going to see Henri."

"How?"

"I'm apparating from Hogsmeade, and going to the Ministry to get a port key. I'm surprising him. I coordinated it with his friends. They're only an hour ahead of us anyway, so there won't be too much lag."

"Very nice." Audrey said.

"What about you?" Sarah asked, looking at Audrey. "What are you and Sirius doing this weekend?" Her voice was suggestive.

"He's probably going to show up in her bed naked." Marlene snorted.

**That actually is something I would do…**

"Well, if anyone's going to be naked, it won't be in my bed, or in our dormitory." Audrey said with a small smile.

"Oh?" Marlene asked, bumping her hip.

"Mr. Black has booked us a room in an unknown location for the weekend." Audrey replied.

"He won't tell you where?"

"Nope, apparently, it's a surprise." Audrey shrugged.

"Ooooh." The girls said, giving each other looks.

"Oh, shut. it." Audrey threw her hands in the air, they laughed.

"What about you, Marly? What're you and Remus up to?" Audrey asked.

"I actually don't know either." Marlene blushed.

"Hehe, wolf boy." Sarah giggled. Marlene went even more red.

"So, what do you think James is doing for Lily?" Marlene said, changing the subject.

"I don't know." Audrey said thoughtfully.

"We should go ask him!" Sarah squealed, jumping up and clicking her heels together. She began to run towards the Gryffindor common room.

"I like how she runs to our common room first." Marlene snorted, as she and Audrey picked up the pace and ran.

"Wattlebird" Marlene breathed at the portrait and the three of them climbed through, then ran up the staircase to the boys dormitory.

They were just outside of the 7th year's dorm when Sarah panted.

"That's the only thing I hate about being a bloody senior, the dorms are so far."

Marlene kicked open the door to find, James, Sirius, Peter, and Frank sitting on their beds.

"OI!" James said, covering up his shirtless chest, like a girl. "What're you lot doing up here? I'm practically naked!"

"We don't care, James." Marlene said as Sarah jumped on James bed, startling him.

"_JAMES_! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH LILY THIS WEEKEND?"

The boys laughed at her, she was like an excited child sometimes.

"Okay! Okay! _Okay_, Puffer!" James said, catching Sarah to make her stop jumping. "I'll tell you lot."

Sarah jumped off the bed, and the three girls gathered on the floor close together looking up at James. Sirius, Remus, and Frank joined them, picking up on their antics quickly. Remus flicked his wand and a bag of popcorn came flying out of a trunk. They all were huddled so close together.

"What is this?" James sputtered, and then laughed.

"Tell us a story!" Marlene commanded.

"Yeah!" Everyone else jeered.

"Alright, so this weekend, I'm taking Lily-"

"Who's Lily?" Sirius asked, acting childlike.

"Sirius-" James began but Audrey cut him off.

"Is Lily your giiiiirlfriend?" She cooed.

James rolled his eyes at his friends.

"So rude!" Frank scoffed. "Did you see that?"  
>"James, I'm telling my mummy." Sarah said.<p>

"James, why don't you like us?" Marlene stuck out her lip.

"I like you lot!" James laughed. "Relax!"

"Okay, Lily is my girlfriend-"

"AWWWW." They all said together, turning to each other and then back to James.

"Is she pretty, James?" Audrey asked.

"Yes, she's very beautiful. Anyway, I'm taking Lily to this place I used to go with my parents when I was a kid. It's on the coast, very peaceful."

"AWWWWW." The group said again.

"That's so sweet." Sarah cooed.

"Alright, now…off to bed, you nutters." James said, shooing them.

"Good night, daddy!" Sarah said, skipping up and leaving the boys dorm. Marlene kissed Remus good night and followed Sarah. Frank went back to his bed, and Audrey rose from the floor, helping Sirius up.

"Thanks, lovely." He murmured, moving a stand of her hair behind her ear.

"Any time." She smiled. "When can I meet you tomorrow?"

He took her head in his hands and kissed her.

"How about tomorrow around 6:00? We'll leave around 6:30."

"You never even told me where we're going, just that you got a room." Audrey whispered.

"It's a surprise." He grinned. "You'll like it, trust me."


	74. Chapter 74

Sorry guys, I've been really busy lately. :( I've been writing whenever I can though. Working on Chapter 75 tonight!

Thanks for the reviews, javalon14 and Weasleytwinslover87! :D  
><strong><br>If you like tacos, I think you should review. ;D**  
><strong><br>DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 74

On Friday, Audrey made her way from the studio back to the Gryffindor common room to clean off and pack before her weekend away with Sirius.

She always found Valentine's Day a peculiar holiday, especially with all of the couples around the school. It was a bit disgusting sometimes, and Valentine's Day just magnified it. She would always make fun of the couples with Marlene, Lily, and Sarah when they were in their early years of school. But now that they were all in relationships, it was different.

The common room was deserted, and the 7th year girl's dormitory was nearly deserted as well. Save for Marlene who was getting ready to go out with Remus.

"Long practice session?" She asked, looking at her friend through the mirror while applying some make up.

"Yeah." Audrey breathed, flopping onto her bed. "I figured I might as well practice for Saturday and Sunday too, seeing as I'll probably be exhausted.

"Exhausted?" Marlene wiggled her eyebrows. "Sirius is human, and you're not. Wouldn't it be the other way around?"

"He's got great stamina." Audrey said, feeling a little odd that she was being interrogated about what she and Sirius did behind closed doors. "He suddenly just gets this epic burst of energy as soon as clothes start flying off."

"That's normal." Marlene confirmed. "They're all like that."

"Even Remus?"

Marlene nodded.

"_Huh_."

"What?"

"I dunno. Remus always came off to me as one of those 'subdued romantic types' when you two _bonk_."

"I cannot believe you just said _bonk_."

"Shut it."

"Do you and Sirius do it _doggy_ style?"

Audrey threw a pillow at her, she laughed.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" She said between laughs. "I had to. It was just so perfect."

"James says that one all the time." Audrey groaned, as she packed her bag.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." Marlene giggled. "He doesn't taunt Remus and I…"

"It's because he thinks you're both bloody innocent." said Audrey. Marlene laughed out loud.

After she finished packing, and Marlene finished her make up, they made their way downstairs to the common room. Naturally, Sirius and Remus were on the sofa waiting for them.

"You know what?" Marlene said, as the two came down the last few steps.

"What?" Remus asked, looking at Marlene.

"I think Audrey and I are going to ditch you blokes and go on our own date."

The boys exchanged a quick glance, hopped up from the couch and charged at them.

"I don't think so." Sirius said, throwing Audrey over his shoulder.

"Put me down! I have arms!" Audrey said, punching his back. Sirius chuckled. Audrey looked over and noticed that Remus had Marlene in a tight bridal carry.

"Pads, which passage are you taking?" Remus asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, Moony. Do you think I can apparate from the cellar?"

"You definitely can, I've done it before." Remus replied.

Sirius looked at his friend for a moment. "_REMUS_!" He scolded in his fatherly voice.

"What?" He shrugged.

"You'll have to explain that later." Sirius grinned, he snapped his fingers and his bag, along with Audrey's was gone.

"Can you put me down, yet?" Audrey asked. "I don't like talking to your backside."

"You love my backside." Sirius argued.

"_Sirius_."

"Yes, love?"

Audrey groaned in frustration.

"Don't worry, darling. I'll let you walk as soon as we get to where we need to go."

After a few more minutes, Sirius finally let her down. They were in front of the creepy one eyed witch statue that Marlene always hated.

"Sirius, why-" Audrey began but he shushed her, tapping his wand on the hump of the witch.

A small door opened, revealing a slide and a tunnel.

Sirius stepped inside first, and then extended his hand to Audrey. His wand lit the tunnel.

"It's the only tunnel big enough to stand in while traveling through." Sirius said conversationally, taking her hand.

"And that's the reason we're taking it?" Audrey raised an eyebrow.

"Partially. Though I would have rather enjoyed crawling behind you." He growled. Audrey elbowed him.

"The tunnel leads to Honeyduke's Cellar. From there, we're apparating. For some reason, one can disapparate from Honeyduke's, but they can't apparate in."

"That's clever." Audrey said.

"It's clever, but sad. That means I cant apparate into Honeydukes and raid their entire cellar." Sirius pouted.

Audrey rolled her eyes.

After about an hour of walking, they finally reached the cellar. Sirius was about to knick something, but Audrey swatted his arm.

"No, puppy eyes." Audrey said. He grinned, and grabbed her hand.

"Hang on tight." He whispered.

The dark blur of the cellar changed to sunset in a familiar park.

"Bet you'll never guess where we are." Sirius grinned.

Audrey looked around for a moment. "Glasgow."

"Damnit."

"I travel a lot, love." She pecked his cheek, smiling. He shook his head and muttered "Can't surprise you with anything."

"Oh, you can." Audrey said, smirking. "It's just difficult."

He smiled and took her hand, leading her up a pathway, back to the main street. They crossed, and made their way into a small white brick building.

"It's a guest house." Sirius said, noticing Audrey looking around once they got inside. He went into a small room where a man was sitting at a desk, Audrey waited outside, listening.

"Ah, yes. Mr. Gray. Your room is ready, and we received your bags earlier."

"Mr. Gray?" Audrey snorted, rolling her eyes.

The man emerged from the room, followed by Sirius, who grabbed Audrey's hand. They followed the clerk upstairs.

"Ah, here we are, room 12." He said, giving Sirius a key. "Enjoy, and let me know if you need anything, Mr. Gray."

"Thank you, Niles." Sirius flashed him a signature Black smile.

As soon as Niles was out of earshot, Audrey spoke.

"Mr. Gray? _Really_?" She said flatly.

"Yes, love." He replied, unlocking the door. "I don't like to use my real last name. You know what my family is like."

"So you used a shade above it?"

"_Ha_ _ha_." Sirius said sarcastically. "Clever, girl." He pulled her into a kiss; she smiled, gently shoving him off.

Audrey looked around the room. The walls were white, with an intricate carved ceiling. There were French doors and a balcony, the curtains were dark blue, with silver linings. The bed was large, and matched the curtains.

_**It was a lovely room for a lovely night.**_

Audrey snapped out of her daze, noticing that Sirius was gone. The French doors were open, and she stepped out onto the balcony. There was a light snowfall.

"It's lovely." Audrey said, she shivered. They looked out onto the city.

"Like you." Sirius said softly.

_**He could say the most cliché thing in the world, and it always got to me.**_

**What can I say? I'm suave…**

"Stop." She said, blushing.

"What?" Sirius replied, nudged. "It's true. You've always been, ever since I first saw you."

_**I was grinning like an idiot at this point.**_

Audrey looked down, smiling.

"Don't be coy." Sirius wrapped his arms around her; he lifted her chin. Her eyes searched his blue-grey eyes.

"I've loved you since the very first time I saw you."

Audrey's eyes went white.

"So, I need to ask you something." He breathed in her ear. Audrey looked at him, nodding.

He got down on one knee, taking her hands.

"Marry me after we graduate?"

"Is that even a question?" Audrey breathed, blinking back tears.

"Would that be a _Da_?" Sirius asked. Audrey grabbed his head and kissed him. He grinned.

She nodded, and he slipped a small silver ring on her finger.

"A promise ring. The real ring might cause a stir." He said proudly.

"Someone's arrogant." Audrey joked.

"Always." Sirius picked her up, smirking. He carried her back into the room and threw her onto the bed.


	75. Chapter 75

Ahh! It's been a while; I've been on vacation with some friends. Chapter 76 is already halfway done.

Thanks for the reviews, javalon14, PheonixMinx, LizziePixie-Aiko, and cola-snow44! :D

If you like tacos, I think you should review. ;D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 75

He…_what_?!" said Sarah, jumping on a bed.

"He proposed." Marlene said, holding up Audrey's left hand.

"And you said yes? Are you insane?" Lily asked. Audrey, Marlene, and Sarah gave her a look.

"Relax." Lily grinned, "I'm kidding. I'm ecstatic, and I know James already probably knows."

"All of the boys probably know." Sarah rolled her eyes. "You know how those four are."

_**Sirius and I wanted to keep our engagement private until we were out of school. Between everything that had been going on in the outside world and Sirius' estranged family, we thought it was for the best.**_

_**As the next few weeks went by, I began to have the strangest feelings. They would happen while I was out at a gig, in the studio dancing, early in the morning, or in the middle of class.**_

"Marly?" Audrey asked, as they stretched in the studio. They were alone, practicing a routine that day.

"Yeah?" She replied, doing a split on the floor.

"I have an odd question to ask. A question about humans."

"Fire away."

"Have you ever gotten this weird feeling in your stomach? Like something is moving?"

"Nausea? Yeah, humans get it a lot. It's pretty normal…why?"

"Because I think I have it." Audrey replied, stretching her calves.

"And that's not normal for you?" Marlene asked, looking concerned

"No…neither is random fatigue." Audrey said thoughtful.

Marlene's eyes widened and she gasped. "Aud…"

"What?" Audrey asked, confused.

"I think you might be expecting." Marlene bit her lip.

"Expecting…as in expecting a child?" Audrey cocked her head, disbelieving. Marlene nodded.

_**The thought hadn't occurred to me, for I had never asked my mother about when she was carrying me. I did not know what to expect. Marlene had told me that we needed to test it before we jumped to any conclusions, she was right. So the very next evening, we snuck out of the castle, through the one-eyed witch passageway, and dissapparated to St. Mungo's.**_

_**I did not tell Sirius at the time, I wouldn't tell him unless it was true.**_

Audrey sat in the examination room, Marlene waited with her. The tests were just like the muggle ones, or at least, that's what Marlene had told her. Though the results would be so much quicker.

"Your friend was right, Miss." said the Mediwitch coming back into the room. "You're expecting."

_**You may or may not be surprised by this, but I was elated to be expecting. We only had about three months left of school at the time, so it would be easy to conceal. There were very few people that I wanted to tell, and how to tell them would be very difficult.**_

"So I'm assuming you're going to tell Sirius first?" Marlene asked, as they walked through the tunnel that connected Honeyduke's to the school.

"Of course, but he's the one I'm most nervous to tell…other than Sev." She replied.

Marlene nodded, understanding.

When the two finally made it back to the common room, they found the Marauders sitting around the fire, and Lily sitting at one of the tables reading.

"Oi! Where have you lot been?" James asked, as they all turned and looked at the two.

"Out." Marlene answered quickly, as Remus came over and hugged her. Audrey walked over to Sirius and pecked him on the cheek.

"We need to talk." She said quietly.

"Is everything okay?" He whispered in her ear, taking her hand.

Audrey swallowed. "Yes…can we go outside?"

"Of course." He murmured, taking her hand and leading her through the portrait hole.

Audrey lead the way as soon as they were out of the common room, she went down the hallway, and through the corridor to a set of windows. She lifted herself onto the sill and sat down.

"What's going on?" He whispered, standing in front of her with his hands on either side of her.

Audrey exhaled.

"Is everything okay?" Sirius asked, lifting her head. Audrey stared into his grey blue eyes for a moment.

_**It was rather nerve wracking to tell him…I don't know why. There was this tiny fear inside me that he'd leave.**_

Audrey shook for a second, but regained her composure. Sirius noticed, he always noticed.

"Audrey, whatever it is…you can tell me." Sirius took her hands.

Audrey breathed.

"I went to the hospital with Marlene today..." She began.

"Is Marly alright?"

_**Let the record show that the moment I was about to tell Sirius I was with child, he thought Marlene was sick or injured. He really did care about her.**_

**It's merely an obligatory thing to care about your lover's best mate. Marlene and I will forever be at war.**

"Yes." Audrey said, surprised. "Marly is fine."

"So it was _you_ who wasn't fine." Sirius deduced, studying her.

"Yes. I haven't been for the last few weeks really…so Marly accompanied me to St. Mungo's." Audrey breathed again, she was so nervous.

"What did the Healers say? Are you alright?" Sirius squeezed her hand, biting his lip.

"Sirius, I'm expecting." Audrey blurted out. The anticipation was killing her.

His face went from a quick shock to a huge grin.

"REALLY?!" He jumped up and down.

_**It was moments like these where I knew exactly why Sirius' animagus was a dog.**_

"Yes." Audrey laughed, a little relieved. He picked her up and hugged her tightly.

"Oh." He quickly, putting her down. "I don't want to crush the baby." He poked her stomach.

Audrey laughed. "It's far too early for that to happen."

"Sooo…you'd be due in…November?" Sirius asked.

Audrey nodded, he grinned again grabbing her and kissing her. They pulled apart moments later.

"Good to know you're happy." Audrey breathed.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know…I wasn't quite sure how you'd react." Audrey admitted.

"I asked you a few weeks ago if you'd spend the rest of your life with me. Retracting that because you were carrying a child would be the most counterproductive thing I've ever done." He laughed, taking her hand and leading her back to the common room.

"So only Marlene knows?" Sirius asked, as they reached the portrait. Audrey nodded.

"Well, we'll just have to change that." He grinned. Audrey slapped her palm to her head as the two went through the tunnel. James, Lily, Remus, Marlene and Peter were still in the common room, Sarah joined them.

"What was that all about, mate?" James called. Sirius grinned his signature Black grin and waved his wand, casting a silencing charm near the staircases, so no one else would hear.

"What's this all about, Sirius?" Remus asked.

"I'M GOING TO BE A DAD!" He roared, grinning from ear to ear.

_**Not quite the way I wanted to tell our friends…**_

"Really?!" Lily chirped.

James jumped out of his chair and hugged Sirius. "PADS! THAT'S EXCELLENT!"

Remus wore a huge smile, Sarah squealed and nearly tackled Sirius and Audrey to the ground. Peter smiled.

**But it worked. I knew it would.**

_**In mid-March, Sirius and I left the school on a Friday evening with permission of the headmaster to visit my parents. Once we were outside of school grounds, Edgar disapparated with us to their community. Albus had forbid me from knowing the location, to this day, I still do not understand why…**_

_**Sirius had wanted to ask my father for permission to marry me. I didn't understand why, really…it was not a custom where we were from, but he insisted. Of course, I had also wanted to break the news about the baby.**_

Audrey led Sirius to a familiar wooden door, though it was not the same that she had always known. Her father had built a replica of their old home in this new community. It was familiar yet foreign.

"Where are they?" Sirius asked, after waiting a few minutes. He was about to knock again when Audrey grabbed his arm.

"My mother is coming." She replied.

"How-?"

"I can hear her breathing." She replied, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. Sirius rolled his eyes and mumbled something about 'special people.'

The door opened in a swift motion and they found a familiar green face.

"_You're pregnant_." Airleas said, looking at her.

_**Not even a proper greeting.**_

Sirius looked baffled, Audrey sometimes forgot that most humans didn't speak Banshee, and Sirius definitely didn't understand Russian. Though he had tried a few times in the last seven years.

"She knows that I'm with child." Audrey translated, looking at Sirius.

"What did you expect?" Airleas replied, tapping her temple.

"I forgot that you had the seeing eye." Sirius said, piecing it together.

"How long have you known?" Audrey asked, studying her mother.

"Five weeks." Airleas snorted, rolling her eyes and letting the two in. "I also knew he was going to propose."

Audrey opened her mouth to speak.

"Your father already knows."

"Well." Audrey puffed, sitting on a sofa.

"And…?" Sirius asked, slightly nervous.

"Oh, Isaac is ecstatic. A grandchild! New life…" Airleas replied, a distant look in her eyes.

"What about the engagement?" Audrey studied her mother.

"Thrilled."

"Really?" Audrey was surprised.

"Your father and I married younger than you two are. We have no right to be angered. Naturally, he is a little protective…but he knows Sirius." Airleas replied.

Audrey sighed. "Well, so much for breaking the news."

"You can never break news to me, you should know that by now." Airleas pointed out, taking a seat next to her daughter. She put her hand on her stomach.

"It's too early." Audrey said, looking at her mother.

"No, it's not. I can feel h-"

"DON'T." Sirius and Audrey said together.

_**Early on, we had decided that we didn't want to know what the baby would be. Sirius thought it was going to be a girl, while I thought it was going to be a boy.**_

Airleas grinned. "Oh, fine. I won't say a word, but I can tell you that the name you choose is very fitting."

"Well, that's good to know. " Sirius grinned.

_**My father returned a few hours later, after working all day. The first thing he had said to us was "When is the wedding?"**_

…**What she left out was all of the relentless taunting I received for the rest of the night. Isaac said things such as "Oh, I'm going to kill you, you didn't even ask me if you could propose!" ****There were points during that night when I really thought I was going to be skinned alive. For the most part, it was a night of celebration. I remember Audrey telling me after we left the following Sunday that she had not seen her father that happy since before the St. Aleksander's Massacre.**

**Though the good news had been washed away a week later by something so terrible. March 31****st**** was one of a handful of days that I can always recall so clearly. It is a day that will never be washed from my memory.**

**And it all started with an owl from Albus telling me to go to his office.**


	76. Chapter 76

Holy crap! Thanks for the reviews, BookFreak112233, javalon14, PheonixMinx, and Weasleytwinslover87! :D

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><strong><br>DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 76

Sirius approached the familiar gargoyle statue and said "Sherbet Lemon."

**Audrey was gone all day; I hadn't seen her after classes. I assumed that she was with Edgar, or practicing. I have never been one to have serious nervous issues. But I could feel something was terribly wrong.**

"Mr. Black." Albus' voice came from around the corner, his voice was somber. Sirius felt unsettled.

"Headmaster. What's going on?"

"Sirius, you should sit down." Albus replied.

**I couldn't move. I was rooted to the spot, and every possible fear I had began to race through my head.**

"Please just tell me what's going on, Albus." Sirius' voice shook slightly.

"Audrey's parents are dead."

Sirius stumbled, losing his balance. Albus walked over and sat him down in an armchair.

**I must admit to you, I did not know Isaac and Airleas Dalio very well. I did not know what it was like to have parents that weren't extreme bigots. I did not know what it was like to have a good relationship with the people who had brought me into this world. Though I had seen what it was like, through my friends, and of course, through Audrey.**

**I believe that the worst pain in the world is knowing that the one you love is in pain…and that there is nothing you can do to alleviate them. You witness their suffering, and feel it as though it were your own.**

"Is that where she's been all day?" Sirius asked, in a whisper.

Albus shook his head. "I was alerted by the Ministry about 15 minutes ago, I immediately sent Audrey there with Ms. McKinnon. I have also sent Mr. Snape there as well, my owl took a little longer to find you than I expected."

"I was wandering around looking for Audrey. Something just felt terribly wrong." Sirius admitted. Albus nodded.

Albus tapped his wand to a plate nearby and it gave a blue glow.

"Are you ready, Mr. Black?" Albus asked, he had a rather mysterious glint in his eye that Sirius could not place.

**Albus Dumbledore knew something that day, but I couldn't figure out what. It was only much later in time that I figured it out, and it was too late.**

The office began to fade, and a familiar clearing came into view. In the distance, Sirius could hear yells, screams, and shouts of all sorts. Smoke was pouring from the trees.

Instinctively, Sirius looked up to the sky. It was there…

**I had never seen it in person, other than on the forearms of some "family" members. The Dark Mark was the confirmation of times ahead.**

**And it was right over the Dalio's cottage.**

Sirius sprinted towards the scene, the headmaster on his heels.

"MAKE WAY." Dumbledore shouted as they began to push through the crowd. Sirius noticed that everything around the Dalio's home was destroyed. The residents of the community were injured. How bad had it been?

**I heard them all whispering as we passed.**

As they got closer, Sirius noticed that half of the cottage was gone. That was where most of the smoke had come from. A bunch of creatures were trying to put it out.

He put his hand over his mouth to block out some smoke as he followed the Headmaster through the front door of the cottage.

**There was blood everywhere, everything was disheveled. As we made our way through the rooms, I heard her. Or maybe I was listening for her…since I stepped foot in the colony, my heart was beating so hard I could hear it in my ears.**

**The house shook for a moment, and then there was a shaky breath. My throat was constricting.**

"AUDREY!" Sirius yelled, coughing as he inhaled some smoke. He followed the sound of her cries.

She was in the living area, huddled over Isaac. Severus was next to her, rubbing her back. Marlene noticed Sirius and walked over to him.

"Hey." She whispered, giving him a quick hug.

"How long have you both been here?"

"About twenty minutes." Marlene replied sadly, looking over at the scene. "I think I'm going to get back to the school and tell the others." She looked at Albus over Sirius' shoulder.

"That would be a good idea, Ms. McKinnon." He said, taking a small object out of his pocket and tapping it.

"Thank you." Marlene replied, taking the portkey from Albus and disappearing.

Albus stood in the doorway next to Sirius.

"Ah, Albus. It's nice of you to come back." Said a gruff voice.

"Yes, Alastor. I had to retrieve some friends for Miss Dalio."

"This is hardly a time for visitation from friends." Alastor replied, looking around the wreckage of the place.

"Any idea who was involved?" asked the Minsiter.

"Are you _serious_, Minister?" Alastor replied, giving him a look. "This was a solo job. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came for Isaac and Airleas on his own."

"Eldritch, would you mind if I looked around the scene?" Albus asked, looking between Alastor and the Minister.

"Not at all, Albus." The Minister replied, looking sadly at the scene. Audrey's shakes were becoming more apparent and many of the officials seemed to be getting irritated by the random quakes.

"Minister?" said one of the aurors, coming up to the group. "Could we remove the girl? The quakes aren't helping the investigation and I don't want to be rude, I feel terrible…but we're worried she might unintentionally tamper with the crime scene."

"Give her a few more minutes." Eldritch replied.

Sirius didn't want to hear anymore of their banter, he approached Audrey slowly, trying to keep his balance as the house shook. He could tell that she was trying to control herself, and Severus was trying to help her.

"Hey." Sirius whispered in her ear. It took her a moment to register his voice, she looked up and her eyes went white. She clung onto him tightly, the house had stopped shaking. But her body still shook.

**There weren't any words between us. What could I say?**

"Mr. Black." called Albus, it was time to leave.

"Come." Sirius whispered to her, picking her up from the floor. She was still shaking; her eyes fluctuated from black to red.

Severus followed, and Albus handed them a portkey.

_**Everything turned into a blur of debris, blood, wood, and water. And in a moment, it was all gone.**_

Audrey sat on the floor of the Headmaster's office. Sirius crouched next to her.

Severus stood there, not sure what to say. It was a rare moment in time that Severus and Sirius would not bicker.

_**I had no words, and no answers…the next days felt like weeks, the funeral felt like an entire year. I took a small hiatus from performing, I told all of my clients that I was terribly ill. I **__felt__** terribly ill… When my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins had been murdered before my very eyes, I truly thought it was the end of the world. But now I saw that the end of the world was nowhere close to seeing my father lifeless on a floor. Everything he and my mother had fought for, came down to such a simple and terrible end. **__**To have one's parents pass on to the next life before them is normality in all cultures. But not under these circumstances…it was not their time, and I felt it shake my bones.**_

_**I had no family, not one single living relative…and now I truly understood what it was like to feel alone. I was the last of my kind…the **__very__** last…and it **_**scared**_** me.**_

Audrey looked down at her stomach, and placed a hand on it.

"I must keep you safe." She murmured to her unborn child.

_kick_.


	77. Chapter 77

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><strong><br>DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 77

_**June**_.

The last week of school came at them in a blur, though not quite the blur Audrey had expected or wanted. She became a bit despondent after the death of her parents; the end of their seventh year was an echo of their fourth.

The baby didn't show much, but began kicking shortly after the funeral. Audrey hadn't the slightest idea whether that was normal or not, her human friends claimed that it wasn't. But this baby wasn't human, after all.

The last few days of school were spent outside in the sun, Audrey sat up against a tree with Severus and watched her friends from a distance. The boys were playing Quidditch, Marlene, Sarah, and Lily stood in the lake, watching the giant squids tentacles moving across the water. Since March, Severus and the Marauders (specifically James and Sirius of course.) had an unspoken truce. Though they still hated each other, there was a mutual respect in light of what had recently happened. Though Severus was seen with Audrey less and less at times, and she wondered if he was more swayed by his housemates now. The Slytherin house now echoed Durmstrang, pure blood mania was at an all time high. It disgusted Audrey, not only because it was discrimination of the worst sort, but the man who killed her parents was their leader. This man ruined her life, she thought. But oh, he would do so much worse in years to come.

"How's the baby?" Severus asked, breaking the silence.

"Fine." Audrey replied.

"That's good."

"It kicks every time you speak." Audrey replied.

"I hardly think-" Severus began but Audrey shushed him for a moment. He put his hand on her stomach, nothing happened.

"Say something." She said.

"Hello." He said.

_Kick. kick. kick. kick. kick. kick. kick._

Audrey gave him a look.

"And it doesn't do that for it's father?" Severus asked, nodding his head in Sirius' direction.

Audrey shook her head. "He kicks, but not that much."

"He?"

"I think it's a boy, Sirius thinks it's a girl."

"Well, this will be interesting." Severus snorted.

Graduation was quick, and though Audrey felt that she should be celebrating, it was difficult. Everyone's parents were there, with the exception of Sirius' – he hadn't spoke to them in almost two years.

"Who needs parents?" Sirius joked, trying to lighten the mood.

**I am **_**absolutely**_** terrible at making jokes in those types of situations.**

"Congratulations, love birds!" boomed a familiar voice.

The two turned to find Henry and Elly Potter coming up to them, grinning.

"We're so proud of both of you." said Elly, pulling them into hugs. Sirius went off bantering with the Potters; Audrey scanned the crowd, looking for familiar faces.

In the distance, she saw a brilliant flash of red.

"Did you miss me?" said a musical voice.

Hisoka glided forward, wrapping her arms around Audrey.

"What are you doing here?!" Audrey was surprised; she wiped a few stray tears.

"I wouldn't miss your graduation, Ayla-san." Hisoka replied, but spoke with sad undertones. "Especially after such difficult times."

Audrey nodded.

"Albus told you?"

She nodded. "He also told me that you are with child."

Audrey nodded once again. "This baby will never know my parents."

"It is a terrible tragedy, Ayla-san. But you will pull through this, just as you did years ago."

"I hope so, oneesan." Audrey replied, looking out at the black lake. The giant squid was waving it's tentacles in celebration and splashing some of the students.

_**The day after the ceremony, we all boarded the Hogwarts express for the last time. But I felt nothing. Sirius and I had no home at the time, and we stayed with the Potters for a few days. We were looking for a place to call our own, just as James and Lily were.**_

_**Marlene had the best luck out of all of us; her grandfather had left his home to her in his will. She and Remus moved in right away. Sirius' Uncle Alphard, who shared his ideology on pure blood elitism, passed away a year prior, and apparently left him all of his money. I did not know how much it was, honestly. **_

"You do know that with the inheritance, you wouldn't have to work." Sirius said one morning, as the two were getting ready to part ways for the day.

"That is kind." Audrey said, already in character as Ayla. "But if I did not need to work, neither would you, Sirius. So why are you dressing to go to the Ministry today?" She batted her eyes.

_**Sirius and James had decided that they were going to go into Magical Law Enforcement. With a war on the horizon, we didn't know what would happen. They were brilliant in combat, but they wanted to be on the front lines when it happened…and that scared me.**_

"You know very well why, love." Sirius replied cleverly. "The devils are in the walls, and we might as well be armed and ready for when they attack."

_**It was true that the Ministry was infiltrated; corruption had been spreading within the branches over the last few years. It was what Vladimir had done to Russia…though a much slower process. After all, it is always said that the slowest is the most excruciating. **__**Sirius and James were not the only ones with this belief; there was a decent size group of us. Shortly after graduation, we received an owl from Albus.**_

_Dear Henry, Elly, James, Lily, Sirius, and Audrey,_

_Please join me at the Hogshead on Saturday, June 29__th__ at 5 pm._

_The code word is blue radish._

_AD_

Audrey pulled on a sleek grey dress with an open back and a leg slit.

"You know, I think that dress is a little too sexy for a mother and bride to be." Sirius said, looking her up and down with a smirk.

"Oh really?" Audrey asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Really." Sirius said evenly. "I don't want any horny old bastards staring at you thinking dirty things."

"Oh, for a second there I thought you were calling me fat." Audrey replied.

"No, you're sexy." Sirius growled.

"Down boy." Audrey said.

"_Uck_, you're turning into Marlene." He stuck out his toungue.

"Well, you are a dog." Audrey replied, applying some eye shadow.

"Where is your gig today?" Sirius breathed down her neck as he brushed her hair to the side.

"Up north." Audrey replied, she twirled her finger and Sirius' tie tied itself.

"And you'll be back in time for the meeting?" He asked, running a hand up and down her dress.

Audrey blushed.

"Oh, was that in character too?" Sirius smirked.

"Shut it." Audrey murmured.

"I can't help it if I'm attractive, love." Sirius replied quickly. Audrey smacked her palm to her forehead, he laughed.

"OI, SIRIUS WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE." James called from downstairs.

"Coming, mate!" He replied. He grabbed Audrey by the waist and pulled her into a kiss.

"See you later." He breathed.

"Bye, love." Audrey breathed, a little shocked.

_**I don't know why I was always taken by surprise when he did that…we had been together for almost 3 years at that point.**_

_**The gig is irrelevant to my tale, it was a simple reception for a group of rich muggles and their many friends. Their chatter was boring, and all I was there to do was play and leave. I returned to the Potters before going to the meeting, that's what I was instructed to do. I had to floo to the Hogshead, I was the only one with permission to. Albus wanted me away from the public eye as much as possible, which was a very difficult thing due to my profession.**_

Audrey landed on the floor of the main room of the bar. She groaned, standing up and brushing off her dress. She didn't have time to change before the meeting, she was cutting it close. It was empty and she looked around, perplexed.

"They're in the back room." said a voice behind the bar. Audrey looked up. "This way."

Audrey met the man behind the bar and watched as he tapped on the back wall in two different places. A door appeared, and he let her in.

"Thank you, Aberforth." said Albus, who stood at the front of the room.

_**The room was packed with some very familiar faces, people were standing on the sides, sitting on chairs, and sitting on the floor. The entire McKinnon family, the Weasley family, and the Prewett family, Sirius' cousins by marriage. They were the only people that he had any relation to that he'd associate with..**_

Audrey found Sirius standing on the side with Remus, James, and Peter. Marlene, Lily and Sarah sat below them. Sirius pulled Audrey up against him. She leaned into him.

"Thank you for all coming, I was not expecting this amount of response." Albus began. "Now that Miss Dalio has arrived we can get down to business. I know you're all wondering why you're here."

There were murmurs in the large crowd, all eyes were on him.

"In the last three years, there have been disappearances and deaths… that the Ministry refuses to report, or even acknowledge. And I know you've all seen this ignorance. It started with creatures being mutilated."

There were nods.

"The Ministry barely trembled when news that the entire Ivanoff family of Russia had been massacred merely for what they are! There are four others in this room that saw St. Aleksander's Massacre…One of them is the lone survivor of the Ivanoff family."

There were more murmurs. Audrey felt frozen…she seldom thought of St. Petersburg. It was just too painful now. Her eyes scanned the room, she knew Sirius was one of other three that Albus referred to. Audrey's gaze fell on a large bun of black hair. Next to Hisoka, was Professor McGonagall. Audrey had forgotten that they were there that night…it was all a distant blur, but it came around in her nightmares every now and then.

"Just three months ago, an entire colony of creatures was attacked by Lord Voldemort-"

Several in the crowd flinched, Audrey did not.

_**I vowed to myself that I would never flinch at the mention of that **__coward__**.**_

More murmurs.

"The Ministry didn't even acknowledge it!" Albus yelled. "Isaac Dalio, the carpenter and his wife, Airleas lost their lives at the hands of him. Why? Because they refused to join him. Such bravery was not acknowledged because of what they are!"

Audrey felt Sirius grab her hand.

**All eyes were on Audrey after the crowd made the connection. She wasn't known well by many in the room that day, but she would be in time.**

Audrey looked down at the floor, Sirius squeezed her hand tighter.

"Not only are they killing creatures, they're killing muggles and muggle borns. What I'm proposing is that we take a stand. We fight back." Albus paced. "Every day, they grow stronger. Every day, they threaten what we hold dear. The reason I've called you all here tonight is because I know you see this, I know you're not blinded by the lies of the Ministry and of the Prophet."

A man stood up. "What are ye' proposin' we do, Albus?"

"I am proposing we form a society, and fight back, Mr. Wood."

"I'm behind you, sir." said Sirius, coming out from behind Audrey.

"I am as well, Albus-san." said Hisoka, standing up and giving a tiny bow.

"Me too." said Minerva standing up.

"Count us in." said Gideon Prewett, pointing to his family.

"And us." said Mr. McKinnon, standing with his family.

"We're with ye', Albus." said Mr. Wood, standing with his rather large family.

"And me." said Remus.

"Count us in too." said Henry Potter, pointing to his wife, James, and Lily.

This went on until everyone else in the room was standing. Albus then turned to Audrey.

"Audrey?"

"Is it even a question?" Audrey asked quietly, her eyes flickering up to him. "He killed my parents and I won't stop fighting until he's gone."

Albus had a mysterious look in his eyes.

And so began the Order of the Phoenix.


	78. Chapter 78

Hello readers,

I know my writings been on and off this summer, so I've been trying to publish one a day for the last week, and continue to do so until September. I move back to school on the 2nd, and I doubt I'll have much time to publish during the semester, maybe on Thanksgiving break if anything. If not, I resume publishing in December, probably around the 22nd. As for how long this story will be in chapters, I haven't a clue. I'm just writing…just like my first story. I've written ahead quite a bit as well, and I'm looking forward to publishing those chapters when the time comes. :)

Sorry it's been a few days! My Internet was out!

Thanks so much for the reviews, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, javalon14, PheonixMinx, Weasleytwinslover87, and thewrittenword87! :D  
><strong><br>REEEEVIEW? :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 78

_Dear Chantal, _

_I am so sorry that it has been so long, my dear friend. Everything has been an absolute blur since March. How is St. Petersburg? How is Sven? Do tell him that I miss him terribly. The wedding is in August! The 5__th__! We don't really have anything planned, we haven't the slightest clue where it's going to be…we've both reasoned that we're actually quite terrible at this whole 'planning a marriage' thing. Hell, we're pretty terrible at planning a family too…though having a baby is a nice surprise. I'm not showing much yet…is that normal for us? I haven't a clue! I'm glad that your parents are doing well, I miss them a lot. Have you heard from Teagan at all? I haven't since April…I'm a little worried. __Give Sven, Afansi, and Karl (if you see him) my best, take care of yourselves, and I'll write you as soon as I figure out where the ceremony._

_All my love,_

_Audrey._

_**With terrible news arriving more and more, Sirius and I wanted to tie the knot as soon as possible. We didn't know what lay ahead in the next days, weeks, and months. As the summer went on, I still performed and traveled with Edgar. I was supposed to stay out of England, but occasionally I had been obligated to perform in London. I was still a member of the English Chamber Orchestra, and I could not get out of that.**_

_**After a concert one night, Edgar and I exited with the rest of the musicians. Every time we had a rehearsal, or a concert, we had a different apparition point in the city. Albus never wanted us to be seen or to draw attention to ourselves…**_

The streets of London were deserted that night; it was unusually cold for July.

"I think that was the best we've ever played the Shostakovich." Edgar said thoughtfully. Audrey nodded in agreement.

As they rounded a corner, Audrey's heel got caught in a sidewalk crack and she fell forward.

"OW." She yelped, a tremor shook the ground.

"WATCH OUT!" Edgar yelled, pulling her up and away.

_**The corner of the nearest building collapsed.**_

"Whatever you do, _don't_ turn around." Edgar whispered in her ear.

"Why?" Audrey asked, alarmed.

Edgar grabbed her arm and dissapparated on the spot. They landed in the sitting room of the apartment that Sirius and Audrey were renting in Oxshott.

"Welcome back." Sirius grinned, but quickly noticed Edgar's face. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know." Audrey replied truthfully.

"YOU WERE SEEN." Edgar blurted. "That's why I told you not to turn around earlier." He was panic stricken, and began to pace. He immediately stopped, went over to the fireplace, dropped some floo powder in.

"Albus! Albus!"

"Yes, Edgar?" replied the Headmaster, who's head appeared in the fireplace.

"Urgent business, Audrey was seen."

Albus disconnected and moments later appeared in the room with Hisoka.

"You were seen?" Albus asked, taking Audrey's shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "What happened?"

"I was walking with Edgar down a street, going to the apparition point when my shoe was caught in the sidewalk. I tripped and fell, and…accidentally collapsed a corner of a building." Audrey looked down, quite embarrassed. She hadn't done something like that in years, she was always so in control of herself.

"Which explains why your dress is torn up and your leg is bleeding profusely." Sirius added.

_**I hadn't even noticed that…I was so shocked and confused by everything.**_

"Edgar pulled me out of the way, and told me not to turn around…" Audrey looked at Edgar to finish the rest of the story.

Edgar sighed. "In the alleyway across from us, there was a man in a black cloak and a silver mask. A Deatheater…he saw her."

"But he did not see her face." Albus confirmed. Edgar nodded.

"That is important. He did not see her face, and that saves her a bit. But it will not take them long to start digging around…or to start looking around."

"What should we do?" Sirius asked, gripping Audrey's hand.

"You must not be out in public here, Ms. Dalio. You don't know who could be watching." Albus said, looking out the window for a moment.

"Albus, perhaps…" Hisoka began, looking at the headmaster. "Osaka is safer."

"Osaka?" Sirius asked, incredulous. "You want us to move to Japan?"

"It is far safer than London!" Hisoka blurted out uncharacteristically.

"I do not think we need to take that drastic of measures yet, Hisoka. Especially because they have not seen Audrey's face and they do not know her name. They may not even make the connection right now, but we cannot take the risk." Albus replied thoughtfully. "I must ask both of you." He looked at Edgar and Hisoka.

"Keep her professional engagements out of the United Kingdom."

_**That was the first time that I realized that I had no say in my life.**_

Edgar and Hisoka exchanged glances and nodded.

"Do you think he knows…" Hisoka asked, looking at the Headmaster and Edgar.

**It seemed that they were on the same thought process constantly, and they didn't need to speak. I watched as their eyes all traveled to Audrey.**

"He might." Albus replied. "It was a rather uncharacteristic thing for someone of her species to do at her age."

"You can say my name." Audrey snapped, annoyed at the secretive chatter. "I am the only one left of my species, in case you forgot. Unless I'm taboo now like _he_ is."

**And that's when I pieced it together…**

"Her mood swings." Sirius said, realizing.

Albus nodded. "Audrey wouldn't normally collapse a wall if she tripped."

Audrey nodded, understanding.

"What now?" She asked quietly.

"We have a wedding to plan." Hisoka said calmly.

_**I suppose that in all this tension and war, we needed something to look forward to. Hisoka had taken it upon herself to plan the wedding, and I could not have been more grateful to her. So a week before the ceremony, I was sent off to Japan with my older sister.  
><strong>_  
>"Ugh, this is going to be the longest bloody week of my life." Sirius groaned, slamming his head against the wall in a dramatic fashion.<p>

"You've spent longer without me." Audrey laughed, kissing his forehead.

"Yeah, love. But this is different." Sirius said, hugging her from behind as she packed a bag. "We're getting married next week, and I know it's tradition not to see the bride a night or two before the wedding, but a week is just absurd."

"But then you have me all to yourself for the entire two weeks _after_ the wedding." Audrey said, Sirius growled.

_**The wedding took place in a beach on Okinawa around dusk, amongst many friends. Security was high…though it wasn't as noticeable. I suppose it was because we had been waiting for this day for months and we just wanted it to happen already. It was one of the only nights that made me completely forget that there was a war going on. The reception was held in a large hall not too far from the shore.**_

Audrey stood outside on the balcony, she had to get some fresh air. She listened to the waves crashing for a moment and sighed.

"All right there, Mrs. Black?" said a familiar voice.

Audrey turned to find Remus smirking at her.

"I'm wonderful." Audrey replied, before she could finish Remus placed a hand on her stomach.

"And the cub?" He asked.

"Rather quiet tonight, not kicking much…" Audrey replied.

"You are barely showing, and you're six months along..." He said, curious.

"I know…it's come in handy, I still fit into all of my dresses. " She laughed. "Teagan's mother told me it was normal though, we don't really show until the last two months."

Remus smiled. "I'm excited to meet her, Audrey."

"Why is it that all of you think it's a girl?" Audrey laughed.

"It's only me and Sirius that think so. I don't know…I can just feel it." Remus looked out at the water.

After a few moments of silence.

"How are you, Remus?" Audrey asked, as they turned back towards the ocean.

"Grand." He laughed. "She said yes."

Audrey's head turned to him quickly. "Really?!"

Remus nodded, grinning.

"Oh Remus! That's wonderful!"

_**Remus had told Sirius and I a week or so back that he intended on proposing to Marlene at our reception, and it couldn't have been more appropriate.**_

"I'm surprised you haven't tackled me or Marly to the ground yet in excitement." Remus said, looking at her friend with a grin.

"Well, I can't in this dress." Audrey replied with a laugh.

_**Hisoka had taken me to Kyoto the week before the wedding, back to the okiya that she once called home. She gave me one of her white kimonos and had it made into a dress by a fashion designer she knew in Osaka. The white and gold kimono was transformed into tight form fitting strapless gown covered over in lace.**_

"How tight is this thing?" Remus asked, spinning Audrey around.

"It only looks tight." She laughed.

"You better make sure Sirius doesn't ruin it when he tears it off you later." said James, joining them on the balcony and sipping some wine.

"Look at how dapper this one looks." Remus snorted.

"Tell me about it." Audrey laughed.

"Where's Sirius?" Remus asked, looking inside.

"He's talking to Marly, I'm assuming she's breaking the news to him."

"Looks like it, I can just see them in the distance." Audrey said, peering inside.

"Look at Sirius' face." James snickered.

"I've never seen him actually hug Marly like that." Remus laughed.

"Oh, here he comes." Audrey laughed, as Sirius ran out of the reception and onto the balcony closing the door behind him. He hugged Remus and nearly knocked him over.

"Happy, Pads?" James grinned.

"Absolutely ecstatic, Prongs. I've been smiling like an idiot all day." He took Audrey's hand and kissed it. "Between the wedding and the news Marly just told me…I just realized something."

"What?" asked James.

"It's your turn." Remus grinned, picking up on Sirius' thoughts. James looked inside and spotted Lily, he grinned.

"Not tonight, I'm not prepared. But soon."

"It better be soon, you're the last one left other than Peter." said Sirius.

_**Henri had proposed to Sarah two months ago, and Chantal and Sven were due to tie the knot eventually. Chantal explained to me earlier in the evening that with Russia was hardly safe to have a wedding, even underground. After all…Russia had not been safe for years.**_

"What's going on out here? A mini party?" said Sven, coming out with Chantal.

"Yes, mate. Join the festivities." James said, clinking his glass with Svens.

"It's absolutely beautiful out here." Chantal said, leaning over the balcony. "Why can't every day be like this one?"

_**She was right…why? As we looked out at the water, I had the strangest feeling.**_


	79. Chapter 79

Thanks for the reviews, javalon14, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, thewrittenword87 (Don't worry, I won't give up. :]), PhenonixMinx, and Weasleytwinslover87! :D

Sorry this is late, college packing has taken over my life. :P

Review please? :D  
><strong><br>DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 79

_**The fall sped by us very quickly; I was traveling a lot and performing all over the world. It was exhausting yet rewarding, and due to my current medical state, I was allowed a few days break in between gigs to come home and see Sirius. He was still in training to be a hit wizard, and was technically a spy for the Order along with some Ministry officials who were on our side.**_

_**By the time we reached November, I still wasn't showing as much as I probably should have been. With my mother gone, I didn't really have anyone to turn to with questions. Did I show at all when she was carrying me? I did not know…**_

_**November 7**__**th**__** was a peculiar day, it was incredibly overcast. I was in Austria performing for Austrian Minister of Magic. Austria was one of few countries that had a very strict policy against dark wizards, and therefore, they remained tall and vigilant, while the rest of the magical world was fighting and losing to a revolution that would destroy everything we knew. It was safe to be inside their ministry, but due to my being seen the previous summer, Albus wanted me shadowed by a trusted auror every time I had an engagement. Alastor Moody was my shadow that night; I could see Edgar was a bit annoyed by him. Alastor trusted very few, and Edgar was not one of the few. After my performance and meeting with the Minister, I went back into the coatroom to put my cello away when it started…**_

Audrey felt a sharp pain, and exhaled, followed by another shortly after.

"Edgar!" Audrey called, there was no response.

"EDGAR?" She called again.

_**Contractions were starting, my water broke, I was in Austria…and Sirius wasn't there.**_

Alastor burst through his door with wand ready, he looked around the room.

"Oh." He said gruffly. "I thought you were being attacked." He then grumbled something about false alarms.

"No." Audrey breathed. "I'm going into labor…if…I was being attacked…I would have handled it…trust me…"

"Whatever you say, Mrs. Black." Alastor rolled his eyes.

"FANGS!" He barked.

_**That was one of a few reasons Edgar did not like Alastor.**_

"What is it?" Edgar asked, running into room.

"The baby's coming." Audrey breathed, Edgar's eyes widened.

"I'll take her to the hospital." He said, looking at Alastor. He gave Audrey's cello to him. "Take this back to Oxshott and tell Sirius, then alert the others."

"How can I be so sure you'll take her to the hospital?" Alastor barked, on full guard as Edgar waved his wand, sending a patronus.

"Because I'm her bloody mentor!" Edgar shot back, dissapparating.

_**I must say, dissapparating while going into labor is a most unpleasant feeling. I was set to deliver at St. Mungo's, under very high security. By the time we arrived at the hospital, there were three aurors waiting for me. They were in the Order and assigned to stand inside and outside the delivery.**_

"Ah, Mrs. David!" said a Mediwitch by the name of Lena. "This way, m'am!"

_**The Healers, Mediwitches, and Mediwizards were all under the impression that our last name was David. After all, I was known under a different name entirely as a performer. Only one Mediwitch knew the truth, and that was Lena. She was a member of the Order.**_

"Hi Lena." Audrey breathed, feeling as if she were about to fall over. Everything felt painful right now.

"Sit, sit." She said, pulling out a wheel chair. "We'll go into the room, Sirius should be on his way, I'm assuming."

"I hope so, Lena." Audrey moaned, doubling over in pain.

"We need to get you out of that dress too." Lena tutted.

It was only moments after Audrey was set up in a bed that Sirius could be heard running down the hallway. Audrey knew it was him, she could tell by his footsteps.

"Audrey." Sirius breathed, finding the right room.

"Hello, Sirius" said Lena.

"Lena." Sirius acknowledged, out of breath. "Did I miss anything?"

"Just…contractions." Audrey breathed, gripping the bar on her bed.

"Well…good…or bad…wait, I don't know is that good or bad?" Sirius asked.

"Just go put these on." Lena said, throwing Sirius some scrubs.

"Okay, okay!" He said, running out of the room. Audrey gripped the bed, letting out a groan.

Sirius came back with Remus, Marlene, James, Lily, and Sarah. All of them were in scrubs.

_**One would think that having the people you considered your family in the delivery room with you would be fantastic, but it was rather distracting…**_

"My, what a large family." Lena joked.

"Got a problem, Lena?" James said sarcastically.

"Nope." The Mediwitch smirked.

"I think we pull these off quite well." Sarah grinned, gesturing to herself, Marly, and Lily.

"Marlene looks the sexiest, hands down." Audrey laughed, but then groaned again.

"Don't make her laugh, the baby will just shoot out of her!" Sarah said.

"Maybe that's what we want." James said thoughtfully.

"Not quite." Audrey sat up.

Sirius was about to hold Audrey's hand when James stopped him.

"Maybe Remus should, mate."

"Why?" Sirius asked.

James pointed at bar on the side of the bed that Audrey was gripping. It was dented and crushed.

"Good point." Sirius said. "Would you mind, love?"

"Not at all." Audrey breathed. "Would you mind, Marly?"

"Of course not, we have the same brain."

"Might as well share men." James finished for her.

"Shut it, James." Marly punched him in the arm.

Audrey gripped Remus' hand, he laughed.

"What's so funny, Moony?" Sirius asked.

"I'm laughing because James was right, if Audrey would have held your hand she would have crushed your bones instantly." He replied.

"Well then, thanks for taking one for the team, Remus." Sirius grinned.

"Anytime, Pads." Remus laughed as Audrey groaned again.

"I think you're ready, Audrey." said Lena, below her.

"Erm…can you lot not crowd around me like that?" Audrey asked her friends. "I'd rather you not staring at my privates, thanks."

"I thought we were at that point in our friendship." Marlene said sarcastically.

"The lady said back up, Marly." Remus said in a tough voice, Marlene laughed.

"She's not technically a lady with those legs open like that." James called from the side.

"Oh shut it, James!" Marlene said, elbowing him. Audrey laughed.

"Oi, don't make her laugh like that! As I said before we don't want the baby to cannonball out or anything." said Sarah.

"Start pushing!" Lena called. Audrey nodded.

_**The pain was excruciating, but I just kept concentrating. I blocked out any noise around me, and I lost track of time.**_

"It's a girl." Lena smiled.

"I knew it!" Sirius grinned.

"Fine, Sirius. You won that round." Audrey breathed a sigh of relief and laid back in the bed as Lena took the baby away to clean her off.

"Oh, I can close my legs now? What a relief." Audrey joked, sitting up excited, Sirius held her hand.

"Aren't you exhausted?" Remus asked, surprised.

"A little bit, but the excitement of having a daughter is kicking in." Audrey grinned.

James, Lily, Sarah, and Marlene came back over and congratulations were said.

"Sirius, you better be a _damn_ good father to that baby." Marlene threatened.

"Marls, I haven't killed Audrey yet so I think we're okay." Sirius joked.

_**He had such a terribly dark and ironic sense of humor.**_

"Ahh! We're godparents!" Sarah squealed.

"Godparents is just a fancy word for six babysitters really." James joked.

"Oh shut it, Prongs." Sirius said, grinning. He then turned serious. "But really, it was hard picking godparents and there's a bloody war going on. Any of us could get picked off tomorrow for all we know…I just want her to be safe."

"We know, Sirius." Remus replied softly as Lena came back in.

"She's an interesting one." Said Lena, handing the baby over to Audrey. "Her eyes have changed to five different colors in the last few minutes, and she hiccupped and the shelf fell down."

"Is that true?" Audrey asked that baby, she gurgled.

"Now, you can't go knocking people's shelves down, love. That's rude." Sirius said, wagging his finger. She cooed.

"Well?" said Lena.

"Well, what?" Sirius asked.

"What's her name?" Lena asked. "We need to make a birth certificate, you know."

"Oh right." Sirius said.

_**We had thrown out names a lot over the last few months, but we decided that we would pick one on the spot depending on when the baby was born.**_

Audrey and Sirius exchanged a look.

"Anastasia." Sirius said suddenly.

_**Though we had been together nearly three years, I was surprised her remembered a date so personal to me…my grandmother's birthday.**_

"Anastasia." Audrey confirmed, looking at the baby. Anastasia giggled.

"I think she likes it, Mum." Lily smiled.

"She's going to be twice as gorgeous as her parents." Remus smirked.

"Oh, you." Sirius said, waving him off and laughing.

"Yeah, and I'll bet you that she's going to marry some big shot Quidditch player." James said, looking at Sirius.

"Oi! Don't say that!" Sirius said, taken aback. "She was just born, that's my daughter, you nutter!"

"Sorry, Pads. It's just a prediction." James said. "And if she marries a Quidditch player she'll be set for life." He turned to the baby. "Isn't that right?" He cooed.

"Anastasia's the third baby in the Order this year." said Lena, as she was making up the birth certificate. "Claire Wood just had one a few months ago."

"It's a boy, right?" Audrey asked.

"Yep." Said Lena. "His name's Oliver, he's a cute little thing. All boys in that family, I can't imagine how Clare copes."

"Who knows?" said Audrey, laughing.

The baby's eyes traveled the room, soaking in all the people. Her eyes stayed on Remus for a while, she gurgled when he smiled at her.

"Uncle Remus has instant popularity." Sirius said, as Anastasia then turned her attention to Sirius.

"Hey, love." Sirius grinned, taking her from Audrey. The baby smiled and squealed. Sirius' put on a surprised face. "My my, you're noisy!"

_**I could see the exact moment when Sirius fell in love with Anastasia.**_

The baby gurgled in response.

"Are you going to keep your mother and I up all night?"

The baby laughed.

"Definitely a Marauder baby." Sarah said, looking over Sirius' shoulder at the baby.

"Asia, you are going to be so witty and clever. I can just sense it." Sirius said, gently rocking the child.

"So, does _Walburga_ still want to see the baby?" James snickered.

"Oh god, she's been sending me so many howlers." Sirius groaned, Asia was startled by the sudden noise. "Sorry, love." He cooed.

"Why does your mother want to see the baby?" Marlene asked, taking her goddaughter in her arms.

"Because her bloody stupid fortune teller Nadya told her that I impregnated a pure blooded woman!" Sirius replied. Audrey burst out into giggles.

_**Walburga Black had been sending her son Howlers for nearly four months, the first time that she contacted him, it was a normal letter. She was being very formal and wanted to take back disowning her son because he was going to have a "pure blooded" child.**_

"I guess Nadya didn't foresee this." Audrey said, flashing her eyes a few different colors.

"Or this." Marlene said, gesturing to Asia, who was mimicking her mother and giggling. A vase of flowers fell of the windowsill and broke.

"Asia, what did I tell you about knocking things over?" Sirius cooed, scooping the baby from Marlene's arms.

"She's going to do that a lot, love. I know I did when I was an infant." Audrey laughed. "Better prepare yourself."

"Is that why you don't own many vases?" Lily asked.

Audrey nodded smiling.


	80. Chapter 80

What an odd time to publish for me…anyway….hello!

Thanks for the reviews, BookFreak112233, Weasleytwinslover87, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, Javalon14, and Lady Isabelle Black!

Working on another chapter now.

Review please? :D  
><strong><br>DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 80

6 months later.

_**After Anastasia was born, I took a few months off from performing and traveling to be with her and Sirius. I had saved a lot of money I made over the last year for her arrival to keep us afloat, though Sirius refused to let me spend it. He argued that if we were gone at any point, she would need the money to keep herself up in a world that wouldn't even give her a chance. Sirius was right, but our kind have adapted into human society for hundreds of years.**_

"_Still love…we can't risk it. We don't know what could happen." He said, looking out the window at the December snowfall._

_**I just didn't want to think like that; I didn't want to think that some terrible thing would happen that would tear our family apart the way mine had been. But I had this awful feeling, the very night she was born, and it did not subside. **_

_**The first night in the hospital, I began having very vivid and confusing dreams.**_

_Audrey was watching herself walk down a Hogwarts hallway in the dark, she looked the same, but slightly younger, and her hair was wavy instead of heavy and straight._

_She was hit in the back by a curse, but she got up quickly. Another spell missed her by inches, she was very disgruntled._

"_You've got to be kidding me." She said sleepily, and then sighed moving her hands in a fluid motion. The wall in which she had smashed into had plenty of debris for her to use. She flung it into the darkness at her attacker. All that could be seen was a silhouette._

"_You're a foolish girl." said a voice that sounded very familiar._

"_No, you're a foolish man for attacking a girl." Audrey sneered in response, her eyes turning a dark._

"_We can't keep this going much longer." Sneered another man; his voice sent a shiver down Audrey's spine. The number 1031 was everywhere she looked. Over and over…1031…1031._

_Audrey woke and looked around the room, Sirius was asleep in a chair next to her. She sighed and went back to sleep._

_**It was something different nearly every night, and nothing made sense. I told Sirius about the dreams, he thought that maybe it was just an over active mind. Perhaps it had been a slight paranoia after having a child, he had a few terrible dreams himself. He didn't want to talk about them…he said they weren't important…he said they were irrational.**_

_**Despite the dreadful feelings in my stomach and the terrible news of the outside world, we functioned well for a family. I hated being home, but I was allowed out…just not in England. Hisoka would come and spring us from our home and prison. We would take a portkey to Kyoto, and disguise ourselves. No one noticed us, no one spoke to us, and if someone did, it was small banter.**_

_**When Sirius and I wanted alone time, our friends were more than happy to take Anastasia. I always found myself so amazed about how well she took to Marlene and Remus, but **__especially__** Remus… She knew that Remus was like us, and not human like her father or her other godparents. I was so surprised at her brilliance for such a small thing.**_

_**Good news came to us in the spring when we found out that James had proposed to Lily. I must admit, I wasn't entirely sure if she would have said yes. Lily Evans was always rather stubborn.**_

_**I began to take a few gigs once Anastasia was 6 months, only due to several letters from patrons and other agencies requesting my services. Sirius encouraged me to go out, and this gave him more time to spend with our daughter.**_

_Dear Ayla,_

_I'm thrilled that you're back in the swing of things after such a long hiatus. I was told that you're going to be performing at the Spring Gala, will you need an escort?_

_Blake_

_**Blake always had a very specific manner of asking me questions…though really when he asked me a question, it was never a question, it was a statement. By asking me if I needed an escort, he was telling me that he was going to be my escort. After all, Blake was my top patron. Hisoka had been pushing me towards him since my debut, and I did not find out why until much later.**_

_**The National Quidditch association held a gala at the start, middle, and end of the season, none of the other entertainers and I knew why. I suppose it was a night for all of the teams to be unified and to promote international relations…at least, that's what I'd hope it was for.**_

_**The Spring Gala that year was certainly one I would never forget…**_

"Ayla!" called a voice Audrey recognized instantly. Audrey turned to see a young woman with platinum blonde hair and a white and gold gown come running towards her.

"Iris!" She grinned, hugging her.

_**Iris was a violinist, the first entertainer I had met, and she was the person I happened to be closest to. We were at a lot of events together in earlier years, but solo opportunities took us elsewhere. It didn't take me long to figure out that she was a veela, just as it didn't take her long to figure out that I was not human.**_

"Rumor has it that you had a baby." Iris grinned, Audrey nodded with a small smile.

"6 months old."

"Photos?"

As she unpacked her cello, she handed Iris a photo of Asia with Sirius as Padfoot.

"Absolutely adorable." Iris cooed. "I bet she's going to be a cellist."

"It runs in the family." Audrey smirked, as she rosined her bow. "How is your family?"

"The boys are a handful." Iris groaned. "But they're fun, definitely a contrast from this life that we lead."

Audrey nodded.

"Who are you with tonight?"

"Blake."

"Of course." Iris snorted. "He adores you."

"And who are you with?" Audrey laughed. "Josef Dudek?"

_**Josef was the seeker of Poland's team, he was Iris' top patron.**_

"Bingo." She replied. "He's been requesting my company constantly."

"Well, he adores you more than anything. That's saying something." Audrey replied.

"Oh, and Jean-Luc hates it." Iris replied. "But this is our job, our husbands know what we do."

Audrey nodded, she considered herself lucky that Sirius was rational when it came to her job. She knew he could get jealous, she had seen it when they were younger. But he knew she was only faithful to him.

There were a lot of entertainers there that evening, most of them female. Japan's team had brought a handful of geisha with them…of course, Hisoka was one.

After Audrey performed a Sonata by Faure, she bowed and made her way back to a side room where all the performer's things were. Someone caught her eye, but she shook it off…it couldn't be him, after all…could it?

_**I lingered in the coatroom for a moment or more, leaning against the doorframe. My eyes searched the room to the find the spot where I thought I saw him…in Russia's team. Once he turned and I saw him in profile I knew it was him.**_

_**Karl Gregorovitch.**_

_**And then I remembered the conversation I had with Sven in Montepellier nearly two years ago…**_

_"__How is he?"__ Audrey asked. Sven knew very well whom she was talking about._

_"__He's alright. He spends a lot of time working, or studying, or playing Qudditch."__ Sven began. "__He's gotten really good, there are scouts coming to watch some of Zoloto's games this year, just for him."_

_**Karl had made it…and I was so proud of him, but I felt so torn. I wanted to run to him, and say hello…**_

Hisoka glided next to her, standing over her shoulder.

"He would not know who you were if he saw you, Ayla-san." She said quietly, looking Audrey in the eyes as she passed.

_**I had forgotten that I was not Audrey that night, I was different. After all, I did not know how Karl felt about me now. Would he still want to be a friend of mine if he knew my last name was Black?**_

For the rest of the night, Audrey had her attention turned to Blake, but she would steal a glance at Russia's team whenever she could.

She returned later in the evening, around midnight with Edgar and Alastor escorting her as always.

"Hello, love." Sirius said sleepily, as Audrey made her way into sitting room.

"How was your night?" Audrey asked, sitting on the arm of the chair he was in and kissing his forehead.

"Fine." He smiled, pulling her onto his lap. "Sat with little miss, played some guitar, read to her, and she's been out the whole night."

"Aww." She smiled, getting up, he held onto her hand. "I need to get out of this dress, are you coming to bed?"

Sirius sat up straight. "I don't know…depends what you mean by coming to bed." He wore a mischievous grin.

"What do you think?" Audrey asked, looking over her shoulder as she made her way down the hallway. Sirius jumped up and ran after her with a grin.


	81. Chapter 81

Hello, beautiful readers!

I am off to University tomorrow, and that means that this is the last chapter I will be publishing until **mid-December**. Not quite sure the _exact_ date that I'll be done with this semester, but as I've stated in previous chapters, _everything_ for the rest of this story is outlined, so it should be an easy write once I'm back. It sucks that I didn't have more time to write this summer; I'm looking forward to finishing out this story though in December.

Thanks so much for the reviews, javalon14, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx (yep, have to have a filler every now and then.), and PheonixMinx!

Reviews are lovely; they'll keep me cheerful during this semester. :D

If you're starting school or university this week, good luck!

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 81

_November_.

"Can you lot believe it's been a year?" Lily asked, bouncing Asia on her lap, the baby giggled.

"Nope. It feels like yesterday." Sirius grinned, holding Audrey's hand and stroking it with his thumb. He then crouched down to his daughter.

"One year old, miss. I think you should stop growing now. I don't know what I'll do when you're a teenager."

"Da." The baby babbled in response.

"I can never tell if she's trying to address me or speaking Russian." Sirius said, scratching his head.

"Probably speaking Russian." Marlene said with a small smile.

"Mo!" The baby exclaimed, stretching her arms out at Marlene.

"Russian, huh?" Sirius asked skeptically, taking Asia from Lily's lap and giving her to Marlene.

There was a knock at the door, Sirius went to check it, James followed. You could never be too careful during these times.

"Who is it?"

"Edgar."

Audrey walked over, to the door and said.

"What's the first thing you ever said to me after becoming my mentor?"

"Watch out for the Prime Minister, he's a pervert."

Sirius and James gave Audrey a funny look.

"I'll explain later, just open the door." Audrey said, waving them off.

"Hello, Ed." She smiled, giving him a hug. Everyone exchanged greetings.

"I thought you said that you didn't have time to stop by today?" Audrey asked, as they sat down and she handed him a cup of tea.

"I made some time." Edgar waved her off. "I really just wanted to drop this off." He gestured to a small red box. "It's from Hisoka and I."

"You didn't have to." Audrey said, waving him off.

"Yes, we did." Edgar said evenly. "If we didn't, no one else would. Just open it."

Audrey looked at her daughter, who was currently in Remus' lap and fascinated by his hands, and then looked at Edgar.

"Think you know what it is?" Edgar asked, raising an eyebrow. Audrey nodded and she opened the box, which enlarged slightly.

_**It was a small cello.**_

"Thank you." Audrey smiled, hugging Edgar. Marlene, Sarah, and Lily cooed about how small the cello was.

"When do you think she'll start learning?" Marlene asked, cocking her head.

"Probably between two and two and a half years." Audrey replied, looking at Asia with a smile. "It really depends on growth…my father learned shortly after he started walking."

_**Since returning to performing, I had gotten more requests than ever before. There were gigs that I actually had to turn down, due to an already busy schedule from a higher demand from certain patrons and being a mother and a wife. It thrilled me that I could manage both my career and raising my daughter…**_

_**But alas, nothing lasts forever.**_

_**I was still tied to the English Chamber Orchestra, even though I was forbidden to perform in the United Kingdom by Albus. I couldn't break my contract, so I went to rehearsals heavily guarded. Normally, getting to and from rehearsals and concerts wasn't an issue, but there was one night in July where it was…**_

"I think that was the best we've ever played the concerto." said Ernie, one of the first violinists, as he put his instrument away.

"The cello section messed up on the second repeat, but overall, it was fine." replied Edgar.

"Such a perfectionist." Audrey rolled her eyes and laughed. Edgar was about to shoot back when they heard an explosion.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ernie asked, as another player opened the backstage door slightly. A few members of the orchestra looked over his shoulder.

"Oh Merlin." whispered one, clutching his chest.

"What is it?" Edgar asked, walking over, Audrey followed.

"They're attacking the city." said another.

"Who?" Audrey asked.

_**What a foolish question.**_

Audrey saw them over everyone's shoulders and gasped.

"We need to evacuate." said Edgar. "Use the fire place in Maestro Martine's office, go!"

Everyone began to move through the backstage area, leaving just Edgar, Audrey, and the three Aurors that came with them.

"What do we do?" She asked, looking between the four men.

"We can't risk the floo network like the others." Alastor barked.

Before any of the others could speak, there was a loud boom and shouts.

_**They had gotten inside the theatre, and all I could hear were screams and…**_

_Thud._

_Thud._

_Thud._

"There are some back here." yelled a voice, a man was making his way onto the stage and behind the curtain.

"Get ready, men." Alastor barked. "Audrey, you know how to handle yourself, we'll buy you some time."

Audrey looked at Edgar, he nodded

"And don't dissapparate…they'll trace it." Alastor barked and then began firing hexes.

Audrey tapped her cello with her fingers and sent it to the apartment. She slipped out the back door.

"Over here!" hissed a very familiar voice. "And pull your hood up!" Audrey followed the voice into the alleyway quickly, pulling her cloak hood up to disguise herself. She followed the man down the alleyway into a small side alcove.

The alcove seemed to be built into the alleyway by a wizard, for it looked very out of place as Audrey studied it.

They faced each other, this man wore a death eater mask. Audrey's eyes widened, she was about to run when he grabbed her arm.

"DON'T" He whispered urgently. "I'm a spy."

"I don't know of any spies." Audrey hissed, suspicious. She let her eyes go yellow for extra measure, it was the prey warning the supposed predator to back off.

"Well," said the man gesturing to himself, he waved his wand, a shield was cast over the alcove. Audrey gave him a look.

"A few protective enchantments, they can't see or hear us…it wont be up for long though, we don't have much time." He said urgently. "Dumbledore doesn't know about me either. I defected about a month ago."

Audrey was about to ask who he was when he waved his hand and removed his mask.

_**The face I knew well…that was the face of my love. But I knew better…**_

Regulus Black.

"Why did you defect?" Audrey asked, her eyes studying her brother in-law. She was unsure if she should trust him. To say that he looked like Sirius was an _understatement_.

"I can't tell you…not right now…you will find out though, Audrey. I know you will." He said, returning her gaze. Her heart fluttered, she knew that Black look well, but she shook it off. That was Regulus, _not_ Sirius.

"Why did you save me?" She looked at him, standing as far as she could, her hand ready should she have to attack.

"Because I can only imagine the heartbreak of Sirius if you did not return home one night." He replied, his blue eyes searching her.

Audrey studied him, still unsure of whether to trust him.

"You do not understand, you think that the Dark Lord wants you dead because you are a threat. He doesn' wants you alive…and your child."

Audrey stepped back, her hand covering her mouth. Her eyes were wide.

"No…"

"Audrey, it's true." He said, stepping forward. "He sends them out to hunt you, hoping he'll catch you on a day like this. Just like that night you were seen when the building collapsed months ago. On the way to or from a performance, on a street corner, anywhere that you could be in plain sight. If he has you, getting your child is easy…only an infant, am I correct?"

"Yes." Audrey replied, her eyes pooling with tears. "She's only a year and eight months…"

"The Dark Lord knows of her. And if he has you and your daughter, he'll destroy everything." Regulus replied. "You must go into hiding, get out of the country, _anything_ that will keep you all safe."

"Regulus…does he know…that I…" Audrey asked, gesturing to her dress.

"No." Regulus shook his head. "He hasn't mentioned it, but if any of those thickheads put the pieces together from tonight they'll know."

Regulus looked at his watch.

"We're running out of time. You can't dissapparate, they'll trace it. I can lead them in the wrong direction, but you need to floo from the fireplace in the theatre, it's untraceable. " He pushed her towards the stage door, he was about to make his way up the alley and towards the front of the theatre when Audrey spoke.

"Regulus…wait…"

He turned around, raising an eyebrow.

"Is Severus…" Audrey couldn't bare to bring herself to say it.

"Yes." Regulus said, his expression was the same cold one that Sirius wore when Severus was mentioned.

Audrey looked down, blinking back some tears. "Okay." She whispered.

"I'm sorry." He said.

Audrey noddded, and made for the stage door…she was about to open it when she turned around agaim.

"Regulus!"

He turned again, slightly amused.

"I just wanted to say thanks…thanks for everything."

"Take care of Sirius." He said as he began to jog towards the front of the theatre.

Audrey stealthily made her way back stage. She snuck between the curtains, there were still Deatheaters inside, she could hear their shouts, along with the Aurors, and Edgar. She heard Regulus' voice, so similar to Sirius'.

"SHE'S OUTSIDE!" He roared.

_**He was very convincing.**_

_ .thud_.

The sounds of footsteps and shouts died away, Audrey carefully made her way around the curtain.

_Clang_.

Audrey froze.

_**I was not alone.**_


	82. Chapter 82

I'm baaaaaaack. ;) Sorry for the cliff hanger, but you know me…heheh.

I know I said around mid-December (January 1st…close enough), but oh god, this semester was absolutely nuts. Too stressful, and I'm glad it's over. But anyway…HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D I hope you're all doing well, and are healthy and happy! And if you're **not** doing well, or are unhealthy, or unhappy…I MUST FIND YOU AND HUG YOU. D:

I've been in the process of re-reading my stories just to get a grip on what I'm writing, I have all of my ideas, I just needed a refresher. I leave on the 20th, I'll try to get out as much as I can. The break is always so unpredictable. The story is getting closer to the chapters I want to publish. (I've had three very important ones sitting in my docs folder for ages.)

Thanks SO MUCH for the reviews, ChrlotteBlackwood, TheBloodyPhoenix, LizziePixie-Aiko, Weasleytwinslover87, xXallegedangelXx, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, and thewrittenword87! :D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 82

"You have been hiding for too long, my dear." said a cold voice.

_**Laughter echoed through the theatre…I held my breath.**_

She looked through the slit of the curtain, out to where the seating for the audience was. There was a shadow in the aisle.

Holding her breath, she tip-toed across the stage.

There was a slash, then a tearing sound. The entire right curtain dropped, revaling Audrey to her attacker. She acted quickly, and twisted her fingers, which uprooted several seats.

He waved his wand, shielding himself. The seats crumbled.

A jet of blue light went whizzing at Audrey, she ducked and mumbled.

"Always the fuckin' nutters going after me."

Everytime Audrey blinked, it felt like her attacker was moving closer. He kept firing at her, and Audrey kept tearing up the theater for ammunition.

_**I must say, I felt rather terrible for destroying such a lovely theatre…**_

Audrey twisted her hands together delicately, a small red light was glowing between them. She released her arms and the whole theatre shook.

_**He did not stumble.**_

Audrey noticed that he was now in the pit, looking up at her. She could not see his eyes, his cloak covered most of his face. But she knew who he was, she could feel it in her bones.

His head was slightly cocked.

"Being very difficult, aren't we?" He tutted, he twirled his wand in his fingers.

He was now on the stage, standing infront of her.

Audrey didn't say anything...her eyes narrowed, turning red. She was waiting for his move...but there was a silence.

"I know what Vladimir Morozov did to your family, I know it still puts you on edge." He said, approaching her slowly. "It angers you, I can _feel_ it."

Audrey said nothing, she shook slightly but repressed it.

"It's funny…" He said, walking around her, looking her up and down. "What events can shape us. We act like these tradgedies don't affect us at all, but the anger tears at our bones every day."

She said nothing as he returned to face her. Audrey's gaze was fixed straight forward at the backstage door, it was still open. She saw Regulus looking in, right at her. He wore an expression of sorrow, which then turned to rage.

"Wait for me" He mouthed to Audrey, pointing at his wand.

"Morozov is destroying Russia, your home." Voldemort said, pacing infront of her for a moment.

Audrey kept a straight face, her eye's not changing color.

"I can help you, Audrey." Voldemort said, dangerously close to her ear. "If you let me."

He stroked her arm. "Together…we could bring Vladimir down. We could save St. Petersburg, and restore the Ivanoff legacy."

Audrey saw Regulus flick his wand, a jet of red light went straight for the wizard, he turned, but did not see Regulus.

Audrey dissapparated.

_**As I hit the floor of our flat, I could hear my heart beating. I wasn't sure where Sirius was and I panicked.**_

"Sirius?" Audrey called, but grew impatient a second later. "Love? Are you home?"

"Yes, I'm here." He called, coming down the stairs swiftly. He noticed she was on the floor.

"Portkey?" He asked, grinning.

Audrey shook her head, Sirius could see something was very wrong.

"Is everything okay, love?" He asked, kneeling on the floor next to her. Audrey shook her head again, and let out a shaky sigh.

"Audrey…" Sirius said, lifting her chin so he could look her in the eyes.

She inhaled.

"I saw him, Sirius…I saw him."

"_Him_? You saw him?" Sirius asked, in disbelief.

_**At this time, there were rumors circulating that if you spoke Voldemort's name, they would find you. Increasing the fear of his name among the masses. It was clever, I must admit. But I hated being chained by everyone's paranoia. For the longest time, we were uncertain about the rumor, so we took the pre-caution anyway.**_

A few tears rolled down her cheeks, she took a deep breath.

"What happened?" He asked, pulling her into him.

**In all of the years I had known her at that point in time, there were only two other instances where she had clung to me so tightly. I am sure that you can figure them out. **

"We had just finished the concert, the audience had left. We were all getting ready to go home, and the Death Eaters had stormed in. Everyone flooed out through the Conductor's office, Alastor had told me not to risk it. He and Edgar battled some around the stage, and I slipped out the back door."

_**I was very shaken that night, but telling Sirius the next part was even more nerve wracking…**_

"And?" He asked, stroking her arm.

"I heard a voice that had called me over…the voice was so familiar…He told me to pull my hood up. I only saw his back, he told me to follow him, so I did..."

"You _followed_ him?" Sirius asked, giving her a funny look. "Not your best idea, love."

"If I hadn't…I wouldn't have returned, Sirius." Audrey said quietly, looking at him.

**Her eyes were chagning all sorts of colors, never fixed on the familiar white I knew well. She was frantic, but holding herself so well.**

"There was a small alcove, and…and...it was your brother."

Sirius' face turned from calm, to confusion, to anger in seconds.

"What did he do?" He gritted his teeth. "Don't tell me he saved you because that's bullshit. Regulus is just as backwards as my parents were and he'll give you away just to save his arse."

"Sirius…" Audrey's voice shook, she was near tears. "He did…you need to see—"

Before he could respond, Albus Dumbledore apparated into their sitting area with Alastor and Edgar. Both men were covered in blood and wounds, Edgar had a large amount of blood around his mouth. He looked like a monster.

"I'm glad to see you're alright." Albus said, kneeling down to Audrey and Sirius. "Edgar wasn't sure if you had gotten out of the fray or not."

"Where were you?" Alastor barked.

"I was inside the theatre, trying to get to the fireplace." Audrey said, looking at the floor for a moment.

"I had told you not to risk it!" Alastor barked.

"You _also_ told me not to dissapparate because they could trace that too!" Audrey snapped back, her eyes going black. She was irritated. "I supposed you didn't want me to _fly_ either because that would have been _too_ obvious."

The Auror shut his mouth.

"I'm assuming you disapparated?" Albus asked.

Audrey nodded.

"I didn't have a choice, he was inches from me." She replied.

"WHAT?" Sirius asked, looking at her.

"You didn't let me finish my tale, so you wouldn't have known that." Audrey replied, looking down.

"Sorry." Sirius whispered, squeezing her hand.

"Would you care to explain it again?" Albus asked.

"I'm a bit drained." Audrey replied. "But I think this would be better than my explanation."

She pressed her finger to her temple, a silvery liquid came out. Sirius flicked his wand and a pensieve came floating off of the shelf.

Audrey dropped the memory in and backed away from the pensieve. She watched as the four men went in. She moved herself to the couch and waited.

It seemed to take forever for them to come out of the pensieve, Alastor wore a stone cold expression, Edgar looked shocked, but not nearly as shocked as Sirius.

"Audrey, did he make any attempts to get inside of your mind?" He asked seriously, looking at her.

Audrey shook her head and said "No…it was just the words that did enough…On govoril o dome, i ya chuvstvoval sebya takim bolʹnym. Ya khotela umeretʹ."

"_English_, please." Alastor said, mumbling under his breath about foreigners.

Edgar rolled his eyes and said "She said, _he spoke of home and I felt so sick, I wanted to die_."

"Thanks, Fangs." said Alastor.

"That's **not** my name." Edgar grumbled, the Auror ignored him.

_**The entire time, Sirius did not speak. He was pale and expressionless…**_

"Audrey, I'd strongly advise you to cut your ties with the English Chamber Orchestra. You need to keep your professional engagements outside of the country." Albus said, looking at her.

Audrey nodded, still looking at the floor. Her eyes were pooling with tears.

_**Just a mention of St. Petersburg and I would fall apart…but what scared me the most, was how close he was to me. What if he were to come that close to my daughter?**_

The three men left after a little bit of discussion, leaving the couple alone. Audrey looked up to see Sirius' extended hand, he helped her off the ground. The two made their way to the sofa and collapsed onto it. She rested her head on his shoulder, they both sighed.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you." Sirius said, after a few moments of silence. "But you must forgive me when I say this, but I _still_ don't trust him."

"Fair enough." Audrey replied, though she disagreed. She knew it was best not to bring it up.

"I am just so happy that you're here with me." He said, looking at her. He blinked out a few tears.

"I was more worried about you and the baby." Audrey whispered, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. "I don't know what I would do if…" She stifled a sob. "I don't even know what to do now, Sirius."

He grabbed her and kissed her roughly.

"One day at a time, love. One day at a time." He said, looking out the window.


	83. Chapter 83

***Edit: Had to fix a mistake. :3**

Getting so close to where I want to be… :o

Thanks so much for the reviews, CharlotteBlackwood, thewrittenword87, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, and Weasleytwinslover87! :D

Review please?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 83

_**As the days, weeks, and months passed, the news of death, destruction, and war came more often now. Some nights we refused to read the Prophet, we would just burn the pages. Though burning it and denying the tragedies around us became a habit too. Sirius always said, "Life's too short to be sad." He was right…after all; we had bigger issues to face.**_

_**The prices on our heads weren't as apparent to the public, or to the Order for that matter until later on. We knew it was there, and they did too, but it wasn't as important yet. At the time, only a few of us had been selected by Voldemort for recruitment, capture, or death. But there would be more in the years to come, especially for the latter two. The Order was merely a small battalion…and rather than "fight" us, he would rather try to **__convert__** us. At least…that seemed to be the initial plan, judging from my experience, and the Potters' under a month after the theatre incident.**_

"_He…what?" said Marlene, dropping her mug, there was glass all over the floor._

_Remus waved his wand and the mug was restored._

"_He tried to recruit us." James said, looking a little pale._

"_Even though Lily's 'not pure'? " Audrey asked, doing air quotations._

_Lily nodded._

"_Merlin's beard." Sirius breathed, shaking his head._

"_Did you tell Albus?" Remus asked, as Marly sat down beside him._

"_Not yet, mate. It just happened." said James, running a hand through his hair._

"_Has anyone heard from Sarah?" Lily asked, biting her lip._

"_We did." said Sirius, pointing to his wife and himself. "She told us in her letter that the French Ministry is tanking faster than ours. Henri said France hasn't been this bad since the revolution."_

"_And they're safe?" Lily asked, nervous._

"_Well, I'd assume so, love. Otherwise they wouldn't have written a letter." Sirius replied in a typical Sirius-Black fashion._

_James spit out his tea, shaking with laughter. Lily hit him with a magazine. The couple looked at each other for a moment and burst out laughing._

"_I don't understand why they're laughing…" Marlene said. "Did I miss something?"_

_"They're laughing because they're alive, Marls. We all are." Remus said with a grin._

_Lily threw herself onto the sofa._

"_I cannot believe we're alive." She breathed._

_**A week after what we had deemed as "The Botched Recruitment", I was called upon to entertain at the National Quidditch League's Fall Gala. It was just after Anastasia's second birthday, and the leaves were beginning to turn.**_

"I don't know why they have a bloody banquet for _every_ season." said Serena, one of several dozens of performers who was in the women's powder room.

"Because half of these gits are single and just want to stare at something pretty." said another, waving her wand and fixing her hair.

"Or they want to bang." said Iris, rolling her eyes. "I always feel like an animal on display at these parties."

"I can just picture the signs on the cages! _Please do not pet the violinist_." said Audrey with a sly smirk.

There were murmurs of agreement from the other ladies in the room.

"Come on, girls. Let's go greet the lads." said one, opening the main door. They filed out in a line.

Audrey nearly froze up when she saw him.

_**That fall gala was different from the others…it was the first time I had seen him in nearly two years.**_

_**Karl Gregorovitch had grown quite a bit since I last saw him. He looked fantastic, though he wore a very blank expression. I didn't know what he was thinking about. Later in the evening, when Blake had left me for a moment, I stood behind a pillar and observed my old love.**_

"Are you observing the scenery, Ayla-san?" said a musical voice.

Audrey turned and looked over her shoulder, and there stood Hisoka, as one of her alter-egos, Amami. She almost didn't recognize her with the white make-up on her face.

"Yes, _Amami_." Audrey said, giving her former mentor a knowing look.

"I hope you are _just_ observing, Ayla-san…Remember what I said a year and a half ago...he would not know who you were if he saw you now." She said, a serious look on her face, as she gave her a small bow and glided past.

Audrey sighed, she was right. Would Karl recognize her now? So much has happened since they last saw each other on the docks of the black lake. She wasn't Audrey Dalio now, she was Ayla David, and when she wasn't Ayla David, she was Audrey Black. Two new names and two new and different lives, neither of which included St. Petersburg, or the people who dwelled there.

_One year later, at the very same gala…_

_**Chaos**_.

_**A traditional night of camaraderie was turned upside down. Everything was destroyed; the floor was coated with glass. There was blood everywhere, and a battle was still raging onward. **_

_**It happened only an hour into the gala…I was dancing with Blake. They had come through the windows, the doors, and the skylight. **_

_**It all happened so fast.**_

Audrey observed her surroundings; duels were happening left and right. Blake was shielding her. She felt bad, she didn't need his protection, but he didn't know that.

She punched a man that was about to attack Blake from the side.

"_I've been around Sirius Black for far too long."_ She thought to herself.

"Did you just _punch_ him?" Blake asked, looking at her.

Audrey nodded, there was a five second delay, she then said _owww_ and shook her hand, acting like it hurt.

"Thanks, love." He grinned, firing a stunning spell at his opponent and grabbing her hand.

They stealthily made their way through the crowd, and were so close to the fireplace when Blake was hit by a curse. There was a large gash across his arm that extended to the top of his shoulder.

_**I was not Ayla David at that moment, I was Audrey Black…and **_**I ****was ****furious**_**. **_

_**But I had to control myself, and I couldn't reveal my abilities. It was moments like this where I was lucky I had a wand for a prop…though I loathed using it. There is only so much one can do with a stick of wood, and I hated limiting myself.**_

Audrey grabbed Blake's arms and began to drag him to the powder room, away from the fray. It was deserted, save for a few other performers, including Edgar, Serena, and Iris. They were tending to the injured.

Audrey flicked her wand, and the door was barricaded. Iris began mumbling under her breath, casting protective charms.

"Any survivors out there?" She asked.

"Oh yes, the battle is still in full swing." Audrey replied, pressing her hands against the worst of his wound.

"Ayla…" Blake groaned. "You should go…leave, I'll be fine…just get out of here before they do anything else."

Edgar cast Audrey a glance that said, _"He's right."_

Audrey ignored it.

"I am not leaving until I've fixed this and you are safe." Audrey gestured to his wound; she was entirely out of character. Edgar gave her a look, and again she ignored him. But she doubted he would notice, he was in so much pain. Making a face, she then said, "I'm sorry, this might sting a bit."

She ran her wand over the wound a few times and soon he had stopped bleeding.

"How did you know what to do?" He asked, sitting up, rubbing his hand over the wound. He winced.

"It's still tender, I'd be careful." She said, rising gracefully and looking around the room. "How to get out is the question now…"

"You didn't answer my question." Blake said with a tiny smile.

"I originally intended on going into medicine." Audrey lied with ease. Well, it wasn't a complete lie…Audrey wanted to be a Mediwitch for a week or two when she was three.

"Well, it really came in handy tonight." He said, getting up and brushing himself off. "I don't know what would have happened if you didn't drag me in here and heal this."

Audrey blushed. "It's nothing, really."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Edgar was intently watching and listening.

"Don't be modest…Ayla. If you ever need _anything_, anything at all…protection, shelter, anything…just ask me." He said, looking at her. There was something in his eyes that Audrey could not distinguish.

Was he serious? Did he care that much? She hadn't realized.

_**It was at that moment in my career that I had truly realized how wrong this could be. Tricking people into thinking that I am someone else. Hiding what I am…and **who** I am. A married woman with a three year old daughter! I had no place doing this…but what other choice did I have? This was a world where differences meant hostility, and had everyone known about me…I would not live. I wouldn't have been given a chance.**_

Audrey blinked some tears from her eyes. "Blake, you need to go…please. Go to safety."

"Not without you." He said.

"We can't dissapparate in here," said Serena. "I tried earlier. You're going to have to get out there somehow. The only safe apparition point is the way we entered earlier this evening."

Audrey looked at Edgar and Blake, they both nodded.

"You're going to risk it?" asked Iris, looking up from the woman she was tending to.

The three nodded, Edgar went to the door first. His wand ready, he kicked it open quickly. The three crept around the edges of the circular ballroom; they hid behind every pillar they crossed.

The battles were still going; Audrey scanned the room for Karl as they crept around.

It wasn't until they were near the main entrance that she saw him. He was battling three masked men at once, and cursing at them.

"_Typical Karl."_ Audrey thought to herself, staying behind from her two comrades and hiding behind a pillar. She watched him stun two of his opponents

"_Come and get me, bastard."_ Karl shouted, now battling only one of the three men. Audrey suppressed a laugh, Karl Gregorovitch hadn't changed that much.

But Audrey saw something coming that Karl didn't, the two men he had stunned had recovered rather quickly. They exchanged a look…Audrey didn't even want to know what they were up to. She quickly looked around the room, made sure no one was watching, and waved her hands. The stone debris in the room began to spin around the men. Each had a stone to the head, and fell.

"There you are!" Edgar said in relief, grabbing her arm and dissapparating.

_**As the room was spinning, I saw Karl looking around. He did not see me…Hisoka's words from the previous year echoed in the back of my mind.**_

_**He would not know who I was if he saw me now.**_


	84. Chapter 84

The next chapter is pretty much done, it just needs some fine tuning. If I don't have it out tonight, it definitely will be out tomorrow. :)

Thanks for the reviews, CharlotteBlackwood, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx (that will be answered later…), and thewrittenword87!

Review please?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 84

_**That year was one of rapid changes, some for the better and some questionable. It was a year of sadness for the most part, but there were small moments of light.**_

_**Just after the Gala, James and Lily came to our flat on cold morning with the most serious of faces.**_

"What's going on?" Sirius asked, looking between them. There was concern in his voice; there had been so much terrible news recently that he knew those faces well.

James and Lily exchanged a look, and then broke out into large grins.

"Just pullin' your leg, mate. It's good news."

Audrey crossed her arms and leaned to one side, Sirius rested his arm on her shoulder.

"Where's Anastasia?" Lily asked.

"Don't you try to change the subject, Lily Potter." Sirius wagged a finger at her.

"She's with Remus and Marly." Audrey said, Sirius nodded and then said.

"Well?"

"I'm pregnant." Lily smiled.

There weren't any words between the four; Audrey and Sirius had tackled their friends into hugs.

"You think Remus and Marly are going to have the same reaction?" James asked from the floor, Sirius was sitting on top of him.

_Knock, knock._

James threw Sirius off of him and bolted to the door, he pressed his ear against it.

"Who is it?" He said, trying to imitate Sirius' voice.

"James Potter, what are you doing in Audrey's flat?" said an annoyed voice.

"Yep, that's definitely Marly and her bossy voice." said Sirius, Audrey and Lily both hit him. He laughed.

"I am not James Potter, love." James said, imitating Sirius.

"I am not a moron, James Potter." Marly called, impatient. "Let us in you…you…"

"What's the matter, Marlene? Can't think of a good insult for me?"

"No, James. We have Asia, remember? Trying to be good influences over here." said Remus from behind the door.

"Alright, alright!" James threw his hands up in the air, stopping his Sirius charade. "But I have one question for you lot, a question only you would know."

Audrey gave her husband a look, Sirius was wearing his signature Black grin. The Marauders would never grow up.

"What is it, you twit?" Marly asked, incredibly impatient.

"What is one of my favorite words?" James asked.

"Snollygoster." said Remus.

"Nope."

"Namby-pamby." said Marlene in a triumphant voice.

"That's two words!"

The couple behind the door groaned.

"Pettifoger?" Remus guessed.

"No." said James, grinning. Lily smacked him on the arm, he snickered.

"Lickspittle?" asked Marly.

"No!" said James, doubling over with silent laughter. Audrey could feel Sirius shaking with laughter next to her.

"Oocephalus?" said a little voice that belonged to Anastasia.

"That's my favorite niece!" James grinned, opening the door.

"Oocephalus?" Marly said, giving him a funny look as they entered, James shut the door behind them and locked it.

"It's a word for someone who's an egghead." James smirked.

Anastasia jumped down from Remus arms and hugged her father's leg.

"Where did you learn that word from?" Sirius asked, with a large grin. He crouched down to his daughter's height.

"Uncle James taught it to me last week when he was reading." said Asia, looking up at her father.

"Uncle James was reading?" Audrey asked, picking up the toddler. The child nodded.

"Uncle James never reads, you know." said Marly, poking Asia's nose.

"It's true." Lily said, joining in. "James barely reads."

"_Why_?" The child asked.

"Did she just…?" Marlene was perplexed.

"Did she just what?" asked James.

"She just spoke banshee." Remus smiled. "Audrey, you haven't done that in a while."

"I haven't." Audrey admitted. "I haven't spoken it for just over three years."

_**As she grew, and as I spent more and more time with her, I learned strange things about her everyday. When she spoke my mother's tongue, it haunted me slightly. The only time she could have heard it was when she was just conceived…it did not make sense. She had heard me speak small Russian words every now and then, but she picked up the language quickly.**_

"She must have a knack for languages or something." said James thoughtfully. "When we were with her last week, she spoke to me in Russian, I'm sure of it."

"That's intriguing," said Remus. "You should ask Albus about that."

Audrey nodded, and decided to change the subject. "James, Lily…" She gave them a look.

"I'm pregnant." Lily blurted out, excited.

"WHAT?" Marlene grinned, grabbing Lily and spinning her around.

Lily nodded; Marlene jumped up and down and did a small jig, Audrey grinned and joined.

"Still can't get the dance out of these two." Sirius snorted, nodding his head at the women.

"Well, I still teach, Sirius." Marlene rolled her eyes, kicking her leg up and trying to hit his head. Sirius ducked.

"And I perform." Audrey said, elbowing her husband.

"Fine, fine." Sirius rolled his eyes, muttering about women. He walked over to the kitchen cabinets and took out a bottle of fire whiskey. "I think this calls for a celebration."

_**We were grateful for the exciting news of new life, it was a small beacon of hope in the dark times that were surrounding us. Lily and James weren't the only one's who were expecting. At the Order meeting that week, we found out that Sirius' cousin Molly was expecting another child, Alice and Frank too.**_

_**But that wasn't the only thing we had found out…Albus had kept us behind after the meeting to tell us something.**_

"From what one of my sources has told me, a young Death Eater defected and passed away earlier this week." said Albus.

"Why did he defect?" asked Marlene.

"It is unknown."

"Albus, not to be rude, but why is this relevant?" asked Remus, who seemed a little confused.

The Headmaster turned to Sirius Black.

"It was your brother, Sirius."

Sirius wore a blank expression; he wasn't quite sure how to react. He had never had the best relationship with his brother. They were polar opposites in every way. Ideology especially was where they clashed, Regulus never thought for himself, he always followed the family.

Audrey bit her lip and blinked back some tears.

_**I knew very well how Sirius felt about his brother, but Regulus had been nothing but nice to me…even when we were in school.**_

"That's…unfortunate." Sirius said in an indecipherable tone.

"You're saying that Regulus defected?" asked Remus.

"Yes." Replied the Headmaster. "It is unknown how long ago he defected-"

Audrey cut him off, coming out of her daze. "He defected over two years ago…"

"How would you know that, Miss Dalio?" Albus asked.

"The night that the ECO concert was attacked…" She replied.

"Right." Albus nodded, remembering.

"He saved my life." Audrey said quietly.

"_Don't_ say that." Sirius shot at her, his voice shook with anger. Audrey looked at him, shocked.

"Sirius, you saw…I showed you…" She said, hurt.

"All I saw was Regulus doing what he always does, flashing his innocent eyes and making up _bullshit_." Sirius said in a know-it-all tone.

Audrey wasn't sure if Sirius was daft, imperiused, or just thick. Most likely the latter…

"He was good at what he did, just like Snivellus! Cunning and deceiving."

Lily paled at the mention of Severus; no one seemed to notice but Audrey and Remus.

"Do not speak of your brother that way. He died for an admirable cause." Audrey scolded him.

"Audrey, you hardly knew the little prat, don't try to tell me different about my brother." Sirius shot back, trying to keep his cool.

"You may not like him, or what he did in the past, but if it weren't for him I wouldn't be sitting with you right now. As for Severus, leave him out of this he…"

"He was always a deceiving snot, Audrey. What you ever saw in him is beyond me." Sirius shot at her.

"You didn't even know him." Audrey raised her voice, getting pissed. "You never took the time…but that's so typical of you, Sirius. Judging by the outside!"

"His attitude wasn't necessarily normal or friendly, Audrey. He always came off as a future serial killer." Sirius seethed.

"You never take the time to question or even analyze why someone acts the way they do, Sirius!" Audrey was exasperated.

"And what is he doing now, Audrey? What is Severus' job now?" He said with spiteful glee, taunting her. "Oh, right! HE'S A BLOODY DEATH EATER! AND **YOU** WANTED TO MAKE _**HIM**_ THE GODFATHER OF OUR CHILD." He roared.

"I KNOW WHAT HE CHOSE." Audrey shrieked, her eyes turned black. Her skin had a blue-ish tinge. "I LOST MY FRIEND, I KNOW. YOU DON'T NEED TO REMIND ME, SIRIUS BLACK."

With that, Audrey rose from the table, turned on the spot and dissapparated.

Marlene and Remus exchanged looks, Lily looked sad and uncomfortable, and James put a hand on Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius rested his head in his hands, taking deep breaths.


	85. Chapter 85

Thanks for the reviews, CharlotteBlackwood, thewrittenword87, and Nova5621! :D

Writing took me longer than expected, I kind of just got carried away. So I'm splitting this into two chapters. Lots of Sirius in both, prepare yourselves.

Also, I'm now opening up an idea for Deleted Scenes (the little project I have coming out when this story is complete). Ask me any question (in either a review or a message), in regards to this story, or my first, and I will write a one-shot answering that question.

A really famous example: "What if Peter hadn't escaped?"

Hey! You! Yes, you! Review? :P

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 85

_**The tensions between my husband and I were steadily on the rise in the previous few months and that was just the beginning of it all... The fights were sporadic, just as the making up was. Sirius and I never believed in going to bed angry, at least in the beginning. As things got worse, the outcome always varied.**_

"Alright there, mate?" James asked quietly.

Sirius sighed and nodded.

"Have you two been doing that a lot lately?" Remus asked.

"Not really." Sirius replied. "Every now and then…but it's random…we both get stressed out, but she's getting stressed out because I'm stressed out."

"That's called marriage, Sirius." said Lily.

"I know, Lils. I just feel terrible about it." He said, looking up at her. "She doesn't need that right now, and I know I certainly don't. But this war is eating me alive…and it took my kid brother in the process. I mean, he wasn't even smart enough…he just got sucked in…and now he's gone. I honestly don't know how I feel about it."

"A little angry, apparently." Marlene said, sitting across from him.

"Half of the time I don't even know what I'm saying when I'm angry." Sirius sighed.

"You've got that right." Remus muttered.

"I heard that." Sirius grinned, looking at his friend. "I've gotten better over the years."

"You're still stubborn and irrational." said Lily.

Sirius shrugged, he couldn't argue with that. He rose from the table.

"Where are you going, Pads?" James asked.

"I'm going to go get my daughter, and go home…I need to have a chat with my wife." He said, bidding his friends a goodbye.

_Two hours later, the Black's apartment in Oxshott._

**Have I ever mentioned that I am **_**terribly**_** awkward after arguments? Because I am.**

Sirius and Audrey sat in their living area; both were to their own devices, Anastasia was sleeping. She sat on the red chaise, reading through sheet music and transcribing. He sat opposite of her, in an armchair, scanning the Daily Prophet…or at least pretending to be. He would steal glances at her, waiting for the right moment.

It was still rather tense after their argument at Order headquarters. Sirius had returned almost an hour after Audrey had. She was a little hostile at the door.

_Sirius knocked._

"_Who is it?" She said gruffly, it was very unlike Audrey. _

"_It's me, Audrey." He knew better than to use any pet names when she was mad._

"_What's the first thing you ever said to me?" She asked, her voice sounding slightly like Ayla, her alter ego._

_Sirius smiled to himself._

"_Hey! You're the girl from the train station."_

_Audrey let him in, stepping aside._

"_Thanks." He murmured, pressing his lips to her temple. She did not reciprocate. "I'm going to put her to bed." He said, gesturing to their sleeping daughter._

_Audrey nodded, and went into the sitting room._

Sirius was no fool; he could easily pick up on his wife's distraction. He sensed the curiosity about Regulus. It was a topic that even James had tried to get Sirius to talk about over the years.

Audrey was indeed distracted; the tension between her and her husband was bothering her greatly. She wanted to know why he was so against speaking of his brother. Why was he so quick to deny that he saved his wife and child? He had surely seen and heard it in Audrey's memory.

"Something's bothering you." said Sirius, figuring it was time. Audrey snapped her out of her thoughts.

"What makes you say that?" Audrey asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you were staring at the same page of music for a good twenty minutes." Sirius smirked. "What's wrong, love?"

Audrey sighed, putting the sheet music to the side. "I know you know, Sirius."

"I do." He admitted, as he walked over to the chaise, he tossed the newspaper in the fire.

Audrey moved over, making room for him to sit with her. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him but she turned away.

He moved her hair over to one side.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier, I'm sorry I upset you, and I'm sorry for bringing up Severus…I know it's a sensitive topic."

"Apology accepted." Audrey replied, slowly turning to face him.

"You have a question." Sirius said, his eyes searching her.

"How do you know?" She asked slyly.

"I can see it in your eyes." He replied.

"You're not going to like it." Audrey said, looking at him. "And I think you know what I'm going to ask…in the five years we've been together we've barely spoken of this…"

"You are going to ask me about my family and Regulus." Sirius said calmly.

Audrey nodded.

"Look, if it bothers you…we don't have to talk about it…"

"We can talk about it." Sirius sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's about time I manned up and spoke my feelings-"

"Rather than being a stubborn git?" Audrey interrupted with a smirk.

"Oh, a clever one." Sirius cooed, kissing her forehead. "What do you want to know specifically?"

Audrey was about to speak, but then paused. She was trying to figure out how to phrase her question without offending him.

"Don't worry…I'm not going to get angry. I promise."

Audrey sighed and then said. "Two years ago, when the theater was attacked and I told you that Regulus had helped me, you were very quick to deny it…and then again, tonight, you denied it. Why?"

**I knew she was going to ask that.**

Sirius looked as though he was in deep thought.

"Really, love." Audrey said, looking at him. "If you're not comfortable talking about it. It's alight…"

"No, no." Sirius said, coming out of his thoughts. "I'm just trying to figure out how to phrase my thoughts...really, I haven't told you anything about my family."

Audrey nodded and said. "You know a lot about me and my family, but every time I've asked you…you've avoided the subject."

"My brother and I…" Sirius began, still thinking. "We got along great when we were younger. But just after I turned 11, no…10 really, I began to notice the things my parents said. I always questioned to myself why they said such things. By the time I had gotten my acceptance letter to Hogwarts, I was incredibly disillusioned with the Black family and their elitist pure blood outlook. It was just so narrow!"

Sirius scowled for a moment, Audrey nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"I didn't openly voice my opinions to my parents or my brother until a week or so before we went off to school…it was when we ate dinner."

He flicked his wand and his pensieve came off of a nearby shelf.


	86. Chapter 86

Part 2!

Reeeview? :D

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!**

CHAPTER 86

"_I was out on the street in Diagon Alley today, about to go into Madame Prinpernelle's and this frumpy little **muggle** came up to me and asked me where Gringott's was and how it worked." Walburga spat, cringing with disgust._

"_I don't know why they're allowed in the alley." Orion said, shaking his head._

"_If it were up to me, they'd all be thrown in the fire." Walburga said, staring at a candle in front of her. She then swiftly turned to her eldest son, her voice was stern. "Sirius, you __**do not **__speak to those filthy mudbloods at school, do you understand?"_

"Why?" _Sirius asked, his voice calm._

_Walburga's eyes looked as though they were about to pop out of her head._

"_Why?" She said, through gritted teeth. "Sirius Orion Black, have your father and I taught you __**nothing**__?"_

_Sirius wore a straight face._

"_These…animals, these __**vile**__ beings, have been stealing magic from pure wizards for centuries. They do not deserve to be a part of __**our**__ world."_

_Orion and Regulus remained silent, Regulus stared at his plate._

"_We don't own the world, mother." Sirius said quietly._

"_What did you just say to me?" She hissed, leaning over the table towards her son._

"_We don't own the world, mother." Sirius repeated, a little cheeky. "There are billions of other people on this planet. Not just pure wizards."_

_Her eyes narrowed._

"_You can go to King's Cross next week by yourself then, Sirius."_

_The scene changed to young Sirius wandering around the station, Audrey and Sirius followed._

_Young Sirius wore a look of bewilderment; he scanned the platform for other magical people. Audrey noticed three familiar faces in the distance, the only others in the station at the time. She stared at them for a while; there was a longing look in her eyes. Sirius grabbed her hand, squeezing for support._

_**It is so sad to realize that as time moves forward, we lose our memory of those we've lost. I had forgotten what they looked like, they were only a blur in my memory now.**_

_Edik began to walk towards young Sirius, while young Audrey and Isaac stayed behind._

"_Are you looking for Platform 9 ¾ son?" He asked, looking at Sirius kindly._

"_Yes, sir. My mother told me what it is, but I'm not sure which barrier it is." replied Sirius._

"_Ah, yes. It's a bit of a tricky thing." Edik replied, his eyes sparkling. "Do you see that brick wall right there? The one between nine and ten?"_

_Sirius nodded._

"_That's where you're going to go." Edik smiled._

_Sirius looked hesitant._

"_You do it at a fast walk or a slow jog, depending your preference." Edik said with a small smile._

"_Thank you, sir." Sirius replied, looking over his shoulder at Isaac and Audrey._

**As a boy, it perplexed me that there were wizards that were so kind, though Edik Dalio wasn't **_**technically**_** a wizard. I didn't know that at the time, of course.**

The couple emerged from the pensieve.

"I know you know what happened afterwards." Sirius continued. "I was sorted into Gryffindor…I didn't tell my parents, but they found out through my cousin in Slytherin."

_**I vaguely remembered Sirius mentioning his cousin during our school days…or maybe I hadn't paid enough attention to the details. I spent at least four years hating him after all.**_

"Narcissa?" Audrey asked, piecing it together.

Sirius nodded.

"Bellatrix and Andromeda had been sorted into Slytherin when they attended, everyone in the school at the time we came in knew that the Black family was to Slytherin as the Prewetts are to Gryffindor."

"Wasn't Andromeda disowned?" Audrey asked, cocking her head.

"Yes." Sirius said softly. "She was disowned for marrying Ted Tonks, a muggle born."

"Good for her." Audrey smiled.

**That's just one of a million reasons why I loved her; despite her protests she knew we shared a brain.**

Andromeda was the only cousin he had ever liked, though that was a recent change in the last few years. Albus had brought her and Ted to an Order meeting. The reunion was awkward for Sirius at first until Andromeda sat with him after and explained everything.

"Going home for the breaks was difficult." Sirius began, running a hand through his hair.

He always did that when he was nervous.

"I was not well received by my parents when I strode back into Grimmauld place. The first thing my mother did was hit me upside the head for being sorted into Gryffindor. My parents were relentless over the holidays, insult after insult, curse after curse, hit after hit."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Audrey whispered, biting her lip. Some tears rolled down her cheeks.

**She always bit her lip when she was ready to explode. I don't know why I didn't think that this would bother her so much… I suppose it was because it still bothered me **_**a **__**lot**_**.**

"I only told James at first." Sirius said quietly. "It wasn't that I didn't trust Remus or Peter, but I just didn't feel comfortable bogging them down with my problems. They had their own to deal with…especially Remus."

Audrey nodded, still biting her lip.

"Regulus would not talk to me in front of our parents…but he felt some sympathy, he only spoke to me in private. He was always so naïve and sweet; he loved everyone…I didn't understand how he could. All of the vicious words that our parents, aunts, and uncles would say." Sirius shook his head; Audrey put a hand on his arm.

"Coming home only got worse as the years went on, and I spent more time away from home. Second year on, I was invited to spend Christmas with the Potter's. Henry and Elly were always informed by James about my situation at home. Which lead to them offering me a safe haven during the summers…but I didn't want to impose on them."

"But you did live with them the summer after our sixth year." Audrey said, remembering.

Sirius nodded.

"That was the only time I had an extended stay with them. My Uncle Alphard died in September of our sixth year, and he left me all of his money. My mother was enraged, and burnt myself and her "traitor" brother from our family tree…not that it bothered me. It was quite the relief." He said thoughtfully.

"As you know, Regulus and I barely spoke at school. Two different houses, two different entities entirely." Sirius said, and then he looked at her. "I know he's spoken to you a few times over the years."

Audrey nodded, remembering how Regulus was always so strange to her. She remembered all of her encounters with him; they were always a little uncomfortable. He always seemed to know something…and he looked so much like his brother.

He stirred his wand around the pensieve for a moment.

"The very end of our last year, I spoke to my brother, just before graduation."

_The couple followed a slightly younger Sirius down the outdoor corridor of the castle. It was a sunny afternoon, Audrey looked around. She had forgotten how lovely Hogwarts was, it was all a blur really._

_They continued to follow the younger Sirius, until up ahead they noticed Regulus._

"_What is it?" Sirius asked, approaching his younger brother. Audrey could tell from the tone that he wasn't thrilled to see him._

"_I just wanted to see you, that's all." Regulus said, looking out onto the lake._

_Sirius snorted._

"_You're skeptical." Regulus mused, not taking his eyes from the water._

"_Naturally, dear brother." Sirius spat, not in the mood for mind-games. "What is it that you want?"_

_Regulus swiftly turned to face Sirius._

"_I just wanted to tell you that you're not going to see me again."_

_Sirius looked perplexed for a moment, but then registered something._

"_Show me your arm." Sirius said._

"_What? No." Regulus gave him an odd look. He looked a little frantic._

_Sirius wore a hostile expression._

"_Show me your arm." He said again._

_Regulus backed away, but Sirius was quick. He blocked a punch from his brother and rolled up his sleeve._

**My brother hadn't taken his arm back quick enough…I saw it…and it wasn't hard to miss.**

"_Do you have any idea what you've done?" Sirius said, horrified._

"_I'm an adult, Sirius. This was of my own accord." Regulus replied, his eyes narrowed._

"_NO IT WASN'T." Sirius roared, taking a step forward. "You're barely sixteen, and you've never thought for yourself! You've never stopped and questioned __**anything**__, you've __**always**__ followed what Walburga and Orion have shoved down your throat since before you were born!"_

_Regulus' face contorted into a sad expression, but he hid it quickly. Audrey wasn't sure if Sirius' had noticed._

_Regulus didn't have a rebuttal; he turned on his heel and strode away._

Sirius and Audrey emerged.

"He knew you were right…" Audrey said quietly, looking at her husband.

"That's what I thought." Sirius replied, looking down for a moment. "I wish things didn't go down like that. I was so scared for him…once you have that mark…"

"I know, Sirius." Audrey said, blinking back some tears as she thought of Severus. She wondered where he was now…was he even alive?

"I have so many feelings about my brother, and none of them I can really explain." Sirius said, wringing his hands. "Most days, I hate him…I hate what my parents made him into…I hate what he did to himself."

"That's why-" Audrey began but she was interrupted by a tiny scream coming from down the hallway.

The couple bolted from the chaise and ran down the hall.


	87. Chapter 87

It's my last week home until mid-March; my mind is all over the place. Hehe. But I wrote you all a long chapter; I'm hoping to get a few more out this week, maybe tonight if I can.

Thanks for the reviews, CharlotteBlackwood, Nova5621 (hehe, sorry, you know how much I love cliffies.) , thewrittenword87, and Weasleytwinslover87! :D

**Reviews are lovely. :3**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 87

Sirius kicked open Anastasia's door to find his daughter sitting up in her bed. The ends of her hair were standing up; it was a peculiar sight for such a young child.

_**I didn't remember having so many night terrors as a child, then again, when I was a child I wasn't surrounded by whispers of death and war.**_

"Alright there, little miss?" Sirius asked, putting down his wand and sitting on his daughter's bed. The girl shook her head, her eyes changing back and forth from yellow to white.

Sirius pulled the child into his arms and she clung tightly.

"Was it a bad dream?" Sirius asked, looking at her.

_**If you had told me when I first met him that he was going to be a reliable, caring father. I would have laughed for days. James and Remus had always referred to me as "the girl who had Sirius Black whipped." though since she was born, I was pretty sure it was Anastasia who truly had him.**_

"No, daddy. It was real." She said, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Oh." Sirius said, consolingly. "I'm sure it was just a bad dream, sometimes those seem very real."

Asia shook her head, and buried her face in her father's chest. Sirius exchanged a look with his wife, puzzled and concerned.

"Do you want to tell us about the dream?" Audrey asked, walking over and sitting next to Sirius on the bed.

"_It __**wasn't**__ a dream!_" The child exclaimed, already exasperated with her parents. "_Mama, my eyes were __**open**__, I was awake_."

"Anastasia, you know your father can't understand you when you're speaking russkiy." Audrey said, looking at the child.

**I was used to not understanding the Russian, but what perplexed Audrey and I was how our daughter spoke it so _fluently_. Audrey hadn't spoken Russian since her father died she outright ****refused**** to. Though Anastasia had broken that, she would switch languages constantly.**

"What did she say?" Sirius asked softly, stroking his daughter's hair.

"She's insisting that it wasn't a dream." Audrey replied, and then turned to her daughter. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"A noise from the closet woke me up." began the child, her eyes nervously shifted to the slightly open closet door. Sirius remembered closing it after he put Asia to bed earlier that evening.

"That's where he came from." The child continued, pointing at the closet.

"Who came from the closet?" Sirius asked.

"He was hurt…he was bleeding a lot. He wouldn't let me help him, he said he couldn't feel it anymore. But I think he was lying. He asked me where you were." The child looked at her mother.

"Who was he, love?" Sirius asked, concerned.

"Jack." She said, rolling her eyes as if it were obvious. Audrey would be amused with her daughter's mannerisms if the situation weren't so eerie.

"Jack?" Audrey said softly, looking at her child.

Sirius was calculating something…he flicked his wand and a silvery dog sprinted from the tip and out of sight.

"He said he tried to tell you, mommy. But he ran out of time." said Anastasia, looking at her mother.

Audrey was horrified and confused, she didn't know if her daughter had an overactive imagination or if something deeper was going on.

There was a whoosh and a bang in the sitting room, she faintly heard Sirius say "Down the hall!" to their guests, even though he was right next to her.

_All sound seemed to cease, her view changed to darkness, a familiar intricate hall, and jets of red and green light._

_**And then I remembered…**_

_"Audrey, they want something from us…they want us dead, all of us. I got here and I found Hans and Peter dead in the entrance hall. Audrey, you're the youngest, and the only one who needs to know-"_

_He never finished his sentence, he began to gasp, and Audrey looked down at his chest. A silver blade._

_**Jack was Jacques…**__**Dzhek**__**…**__**my older cousin…**_

Albus Dumbledore entered the room, Hisoka following.

"What's happened, my dear child?" Albus said, entering the room.

"It **wasn't** a dream." said Asia, shaking her head. She looked up at Albus with wide eyes. She was already getting sleepy again.

"Your father's patronus told me so." Albus nodded. "Can you tell me what you saw?"

"Jack came out of my closet, he was bleeding _a lot_. He told me he tried to tell mummy something but he ran out of time." The child said, slightly irritated for having to tell her tale again. She rubbed her eyes.

"Okay, Anastasia. Thank you." Said Albus.

"Perhaps, we should let her sleep?" Hisoka suggested, she could see that Albus was curious. The Headmaster would most likely want to investigate the room.

"That's a grand idea." Albus said, clapping his hands together. He crouched down in front of the child's bed. "Anastasia, would you like to sit with Hisoka for a while?"

The child nodded and jumped out of her bed, she took the geisha's hand and made for the doorway. Before leaving her room, she turned around and said.

"If you see Jack, will you help him find a doctor? He really needs to see a doctor. He's hurt."

Albus gave the wide-eyed child a small smile. "Yes, of course."

Once the two were out of sight, Sirius cast a muffliato charm over the room. He didn't want Anastasia hearing anything.

"Well?" He asked, looking from his wife to Albus.

"Well, what?" asked Audrey.

"What do you think?" Sirius asked, looking at his wife.

"I honestly don't know." replied a puzzled Audrey. "There is a possibility that it wasn't a dream."

"Audrey, I know you're denying one of the most obvious conclusions here." Albus said bluntly.

"Of course I'm denying it." Audrey's voice shook, she blinked back her tears.. "If you were in my position…would you want to believe it was true?"

"Valid point." Albus replied, looking at her. "That's what your husband was thinking."

Audrey gave Sirius a questioning look; Albus went back to inspecting the room.

"As soon as Asia said his name was Jack, I had a feeling…" Sirius admitted, squeezing her hand.

Audrey nodded.

"I'm just hoping it was a dream…" She said, wiping her eyes.

"But even then…you've never mentioned them…she doesn't know about them."

"Have you really not told her about your family?" Albus asked, turning around. He looked surprised.

Audrey nodded.

"Well, why on earth not?" The old man asked. "Your family is the origin of Anastasia's abilities…surely she has asked you where her magic comes from?"

"She has." Audrey confirmed. "But I told her they came from me, and from her grandfather, and his father, and so on."

"But you didn't tell her about the others? Your cousins, your uncles and aunts?" Albus was shocked.

"I did not." Audrey said straight-faced. "Is there a problem with what I tell my daughter?"

"I don't have a problem with it." Albus replied. "But the day will come and she will want more. You can't keep this from her forever."

"Actually, I _can_." Audrey replied icily. "And I _will_ keep it from her as long as it keeps her safe."

"Do you really think that, Audrey?" Albus seemed skeptical.

"Albus, it's easier for us to conceal ourselves within the United Kingdom. But I **do not** regret keeping the Ivanoff legacy, St. Petersburg, and the secret that _I_ don't even know about away from my daughter." Audrey's eyes flashed red for a moment.

"You don't think the curiosity will compel her to go back to St. Petersburg?" Albus asked.

_**I always hated when he did that. He pushed and pushed, he analyzed everything we ever did and it was irritating.**_

"If she never knows about it, and if I never speak a word of russkiy around her, she will forget everything. It is for the best." Audrey replied, the last sentence lacking a bit of confidence.

"And should she follow your footsteps, and someday have a performance in Russia?" Albus asked.

"Unlikely." Audrey replied, irritated now. "If she follows my footsteps, whoever is her mentor will know not to take her near there. Albus, why are you asking me all of this? I've had _enough_ emotional stress for the night."

"Oh, just curiosity. That's all." Albus said, going back to inspecting the room. "You know, Audrey. One day you're going to have to acknowledge it…it happened, and there's nothing you can do about it. It wasn't your fault."

Audrey didn't respond, Sirius could see she was holding herself back. She shook slightly, her fists clenched. She blinked back her tears again.

_**I knew he was right…but the way he went about it was so cruel. When I made my debut, when I donned a new life, it was easier to forget St. Petersburg and the life I had left behind there. But with the last few months, the city came back to me in my dreams. It came back to me in my daughter's words.**_

"Your daughter was right, it wasn't a dream." said Albus, his voice was grave.

The couple turned to find the old man in front of the closet now. He opened the door fully, revealing a bloody handprint that was smeared on the inside.

The rest of the tiny closet was clean, all of the girl's clothes were fine. Albus moved them out of the way, revealing the back wall. "It seems that your cousin knows you're in denial."  
><em><strong><br>**_**That last comment was so unnecessary...**

принцесса

Найти правду, пока не стало слишком поздно.

_**It was written in blood…**_

Sirius could see that his wife was horrified.

**She was holding herself together really well, but I could see she was close to cracking.**

"Do you know what that means, Audrey?" Albus asked softly, waiting for her to translate.

She inhaled a shaky breath and spoke. "Printsessa, find the truth, before it's too late."

**We all knew what that meant.**

_**I had thought that after the massacre the secret was lost to me forever. I wanted it to be lost forever; I had forced myself to believe the lie. I didn't want to remember where I came from, and the people I came from. I wasn't ashamed of them, I could never be. I was ashamed of myself; Vladimir Morozov had made it very clear to me that I was the reason my family was dead.**_

_**Was it so wrong of me to keep it from her? St. Petersburg was not St. Petersburg without my family, there would be nothing for her there but echoes of a past she did not know. **__**Since she was born, so many strange things had happened. They always happened in the night. My seeing eye seemed to have expanded since her birth, and it kept growing. I saw many things while I slept…**_

_"There you are, love. We figured you might be here." Said a raspy voice that Audrey did not know._

_Her eyes widened._

_He lunged at her and then she took off, running through a dark forest. She wound through the trees, jumped over rocks._

_She was panicked; she could hear him close behind her. Her heart was racing; the light in the forest seemed to get darker and darker. She could feel boulders under her feet, and now she was worried about stumbling._

_Her head hurt._

_The scene then changed to a man standing above her, his face was blurred. She couldn't make out who he was as he raised his hand over her lower abdomen._

_A brilliant green light._

_The scene changed again, she wore a jade green dress and stood in an unfamiliar parlor talking to an unfamiliar man sitting at the piano._

_"__What should we do?" __She asked quietly._

_"__Beethoven Cello Sonata, Opus 5, number 1." __He replied, and sat at the piano._

_Audrey realized she didn't have an instrument; the man noticed her looking around and pointed to a very dark, almost black cello lying on its side next to the piano._

_She sighed, picking it up, immediately she noticed the Slytherin crest on the back of the instrument. She felt as though she were betraying everything she stood for._

_The room seemed to spin; Audrey was in a different dress. She felt weaker; she looked at the man sitting behind the piano. He was the same person; he just looked so tired and thin._

_He stood up from the piano, and said something about Rebecca Clarke being a muggle composer._

_There was an angry yell from their lone audience member, he flicked his wand, and the pianist was on fire._

Audrey woke with a jolt, she was sweating.

"Glass of water for your troubles?" said a silky voice.

"Thanks." She said, accepting the glass and taking a sip. "How are you still awake?"

"I couldn't sleep after everything that's happened today." Sirius shrugged, closing a book he apparently was reading. Audrey would inquire about that later.

"Having more crazy dreams?" He asked, turning towards her. She nodded.

"It was bloody weird." She said, running a hand through her hair.

"I dreamt I was running through a forest from someone…something, really. It was keeping up with me…and then I blacked out, and I had this raging headache. Someone, I'm guessing my captor, was standing over me. He cast some sort of spell on me; I don't know what he did. And then suddenly, I was in a green dress performing for him with a pianist who I didn't know. The pianist told me that we were performing the Beethoven Cello Sonata, Opus 5, number…I DON'T EVEN _LIKE_ THAT SONATA!" She exclaimed, Sirius wore an amused expression.

"Perhaps your dreams think your unsophisticated for not liking Beethoven." Sirius smirked.

"Beethoven was the only composer you even knew of when we first met, Sirius. Don't even start with me." Audrey scolded in a joking manner.

Sirius grinned… "Well, onwards with your weird dream."

"The scenario barely changes, but the man I'm performing with looked emaciated…almost as if we had been there for a very long time under terrible conditions. He then told our captor that Rebecca Clarke, a female composer, was a muggle…and then our captor set him on fire."

Sirius pulled his wife towards him.

"As I always say, love. I'm sure it was just a dream."

"But can you be so sure of that with what's happened tonight?" Audrey whispered, her eyes moving in the direction of the door. Down the hallway, Anastasia was sleeping soundly. Sirius had checked 15 minutes before his wife woke.

"I honestly don't know." He replied.


	88. Chapter 88

Long chapter. This was by far one of the heaviest chapters I've written out of both stories… I intended to finish this and publish last night, but it took a bit of a toll on me.

Thanks for the reviews, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx and CharlotteBlackwood!

**Reviews if you're alive, please? :P**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 88

_**Fire.**_

_**Fire consumed everything, and all that could be heard was the burning of wood and faint screams. The air smelled of ash and death, it shook my bones and rattled my soul.**_

It started off as a normal day, or at least, as normal as it could get. It was one of the few days Audrey had off in a long time, she spent it with her daughter. They read, played games, and played cello. Sirius was undercover that day; he was working in the Ministry in the Magical Law Enforcement division.

In the early afternoon, a silvery phoenix flew through her window. She knew the Patronus well, it belonged to Albus Dumbledore.

A few days had gone by since the Jacques-incident, but Audrey was still a little irked at her former Professor. He really hit a nerve.

"_A community near Dalnacardoch Wood has been attacked, all Order members are being called to for assistance. The Ministry is ignoring this one."_

Audrey took some floo powder from a pot, and fire called Molly.

"Did you just get a patronus from Albus?" Audrey asked as the woman's head appeared in the fireplace.

Molly was about to respond, but she turned her head the otherway and shouted.

"_BILL_, PUT PERCY DOWN!"

Audrey chuckled to herself, Molly turned back.

"Yes, dear. I did! Quite a fright…I had to stay behind to watch the boys, Arthur went over though. Would you like me to watch Asia?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, Molly. If not, I can come over and help you with the boys and we'll have some tea."

"As much as I'd love that, dear, I think you ought to go. Given the circumstances of the situation."

Audrey didn't know what she meant, but she'd find out later.

"I'm going to apparate over with Asia in a moment." Audrey said.

"Alright, Audrey. See you soon."

Audrey made her way from the fire place to the hallway.

"Anastasia?" Audrey called.

"Yes, mummy?" said a small voice.

"Would you like to go to Aunt Molly's for a bit and see your cousins?"

"Okay!" The child said excitedly.

"Don't forget your coat!" Audrey called, as she buttoned her own.

The child was quickly at her mother's side, jumping up and down in excitement. Audrey picked her up, and dissapparated to the Burrow.

"You better get there quick, Audrey." said Molly, as Bill and Charlie began to chase Asia around in the snow. "Arthur said it was really bad over there."

Audrey took a deep breath and nodded, she closed her eyes. When she opened them she was in a dense forest. She could see the smoke at the top of the trees, and began to follow it to the center. There was a clearing down a small, steep hill.

_**Fire.**_

_**Fire consumed everything, and all that could be heard was the burning of wood and faint screams. The air smelled of ash and death, it shook my bones and rattled my soul.**_

"There you are." said a familiar voice. Audrey turned to see Edgar coming up the hill.

"How bad is it?" Audrey asked, she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"Bad." Edgar admitted.

"What was this place?"

"It was a refugee colony called Paz." Edgar said, looking out onto the fire.

"Peace?" Audrey asked, trying to translate. Her Galician wasn't great.

Edgar nodded.

"They wanted us here." He choked for a moment, composing himself.

_**"Us****_"_ always meant Edgar, Hisoka, Remus, and I…this was a refugee colony for creatures. The Order wanted us here to be liasons, and to be protection. Over the last few years, our community had become very hostile in reaction to the brutal murders and attacks. There was a very extremist view to trust no human…**_

"Let me guess, hostile activists and rebels?" Audrey said flatly, looking around.

Edgar nodded.

"They wanted to see if we could…identify anyone."

Audrey paled.

_**At that point, I had only been called out to a site once to identify someone. I had been very lucky that it wasn't someone I knew…but I always feared.**_

"OI!" said a voice, stirring Audrey from her thoughts. A group of four men (or creatures…Audrey wasn't quite sure) walked over to them from the other side of the hill.

"Hello, sir." Edgar said politely.

"Cut the shit, human." hissed the vampire, baring fangs. He appeared to the be the leader of the group. "Your kind isn't welcome around here."

Edgar cut his civility, his eyes narrowed.

"Do we look like humans to you?" He bared his fangs. "You don't smell any blood here, d'you?"

The man stopped, taking a step back from Edgar.

"I'm sorry, sir." He said, giving a small bow. "Ye' can't be too careful nowadays."

"Apology accepted." Edgar said, shaking the man's hand. "I'm Edgar."

"Thayer." replied the leader.

"Enough with the introductions, Thayer." hissed a vampire in the back. "That still doesn't clear the girl…and she looks _delicious_." He licked his lips.

Before Edgar or Audrey could reply, there was another shout in the distance.

"HEY, HUMANS!" another group of vampires was coming towards them from the other side. "Does this belong to you?"

They were surrounding a rather straight-faced Sirius Black.

Audrey gave her husband a look that said _"Don't do anything stupid, let me handle this."_

He mouthed to her. _"I know…merlin…" _He rolled his eyes.

_**Sirius had really settled down since we got married, though it was a reflex of mine to warn him. If we didn't have a daughter, he would be challenging the four vampires that surrounded him.**_

**She was right.**

"Yes, he does." Audrey said in a prissy manner.

"I can't smell you from here, love." said a tall, built vampire with sandy blond hair. "But merlin, you look _delicious_."

"Yes." Audrey replied shortly, waving him off. She wasn't bothered by him at all. "That is my husband, and I'd greatly appreciate it if you let him be."

"Well, what if I don't feel like it?" He replied. "He smells fantastic."

"If you hurt a hair on his head, you _will_ regret it." Audrey said darkly.

"Who said we was gon' hurt 'is 'air?" smirked another. "And why would we take you seriously, ye' filthy little human?"

Audrey's eyes turned red, then black. Her teeth began to turn into tiny sharp points, she let out a low hiss.

"Woah." said Thayer. "It's _her_…"

The vampires all were in awe, and got down on their knees and bowed.

Sirius took his chance to escape and strode over to his wife and Edgar.

**The three of us were rather perplexed; we had never seen this happen to Audrey before. She certainly didn't know anything about it.**

After a minute or two, Audrey said.

"Erm, you can stand…"

There were some murmurs from the eight vampires, something about Audrey being polite. That was shocking, seeing as she was about to become the opposite if they didn't leave her husband alone.

"Might I inquire what that was about?" Edgar asked, addressing Thayer.

"Ye' haven't _heard_ the legend?!" said one.

"Mate, how d'you call yerself a vampire and not hear about this?" said another.

"No, how d'you call yourself a _creature_?"

"I was converted…I wasn't _born_ as a vampire." Edgar replied awkwardly.

There was a collection of _Ahhh's_ that followed.

"We know about you." said a vampire, approaching Audrey and kissing her hand. "It's in the stars."

Sirius resisted the urge to snort, he hated Astronomy and Divination.

_**I didn't understand…I was more frightened than anything. The way they were treating me was so strange. I was **_**not**_** royalty.**_

"We could tell ye' the legends…but it would take a while." said Thayer. "We should really get down to the colony, that's why we're 'ere."

"The same with us." Sirius nodded, as they began to make their way down the hill.

"Who are ye' with?" asked Thayer.

"We're from the Order of the Phoenix." said Audrey.

"Who's your leader?" asked another.

"Albus Dumbledore." Edgar replied.

"No way." said one.

"_The_ Albus Dumbledore?" said another, in shock.

"Yes." said Edgar. "We're friends of his, we're the only mixed united rebel group in England."

"We've 'eard. News travels fast." Thayer replied, his eyes scanning the wreckage.

_**It was a horrid sight, the ash, and the mutilation…**_

"Why?" Audrey's voice shook. "Why do they think they can do this and get away with it?"

"I've been asking myself that every day for the last 400 years." replied Thayer, shaking his head.

Audrey was trying hard to keep it together, she was trying not to lose control. There were very subtle tremors running through the ground. The vampires all looked at her.

"Are you alright?" asked Thayer, looking concerned.

"No." Audrey took a shaky breath. "Are you?"

"Of course not…" he replied. "You just seem very…tense, like you know something about this place."

"I don't, actually." Audrey replied. "I used to live in a few refugee colonies in the last few years with my parents. A lot of them were attacked and destroyed. I just have this feeling…it's an intense sense of déjà vu."

Sirius intertwined his hand with hers.

**I must admit, I was getting annoyed at that Thayer bloke…he was a little too close for my liking. What can I say? Old habits die hard.**

The group walked, observing the wreckage. As they got deeper into debris, they noticed more creatures and humans searching for survivors. Audrey could recognize some Order members in the groups.

_**In the distance, the rubble had been pushed to the sides to accommodate a small brown tent.**_

"What's that?" Audrey asked, nodding her head towards the tent.

"Medic." said one of Thayer's soldiers. "Everyone has to go in there to see if they can identify anyone."

Audrey swallowed the lump in her throat. She was dreading this.

The group filed into the tent, which of course, was much bigger on the inside. There were volunteers flitting around, catering to the injured.

_**The deceased were lined on the left side, all visitors were instructed to walk along the left and look. The causes ranged from a simple killing curse to full on brutality. I felt so sick…and then I saw her…**_

"No." Audrey shook, falling to her knees.

Catherine Roux, Chantal's mother lay in the cott. There was a large gash down her face. In the cot next to her, were Tara and Tierney – Teagan's mother and sister.

_**It felt as though the world had just come to an abrupt halt, I couldn't hear anything around me. I barely noticed Sirius wrap his arms around me.**_

"Why?" Audrey whispered, looking at her neighbors, members of her makeshift childhood family.

"Audrey?" said a whisper.

She turned her head over her shoulder, her eyes scanning for the voice. She knew she wasn't hearing things.

It didn't take her long to see her.

"Teag!" Audrey cried, rushing over to the right side.

Teagan was terribly injured; there was a large tourniquet around her torso. She was bleeding through.

"What's happened to you?" Audrey sobbed, as her friend reached for her hand.

Tegan shook her head, she was losing color quickly.

"They…they just came…it was so unexpected…they stormed into the cottage…threatening us…" She wheezed.

"Who were _they_?" Audrey asked with urgency.

"The Death Eaters…there were so many of them…more than I certainly expected…they were killing the children right in front of their parents…"

A very pronounced tremor ran through Audrey, her blood was boiling.

"We fought while we could…but they used fire…they ambushed…we were outnumbered! I never thought I would witness the day that his army could outnumber us…one of the biggest colonies…that's what we were…"

Sirius noticed a medic coming by, he pulled him aside.

"Is there anything you can do for her?" He asked quietly, gesturing to Teagan.

"Yes." replied the medic, wearing a distressed expression. "She's refusing it."

"I don't _want_ treatment!" Tegan coughed, glaring at the medic.

"Teag...why?" Audrey's eyes were pooling with tears. "Teagan, let them help you…please." She whispered.

The banshee shook her head.

"Audrey…" She looked at her childhood friend, her lip quivered. "I have _nothing_…" She looked across the tent at her mother and her sister. "I have no reason to be alive…my heart, Audrey…my heart hurts…"

"I know, Teag." Audrey cried.

"Audrey, how did you ever do it?" Teagan asked. "How did you learn to breath again after all of that?"

"I…I don't know, Teag." Audrey blinked back tears, she looked at Sirius. "I had some great support."

Sirius gave her a small smile, and squeezed her shoulder.

"Sirius…" Teagan called, weakly motioning him to come closer. He obeyed, kneeling next to her on the opposite side of Audrey.

Teagan looked at Audrey.

"Leave for a moment, see if Luc and Chantal have arrived. **Don't** eavesdrop."

Audrey obeyed, swiftly rising and walking down the aisle of the tent.

Teagan took Sirius' hand, she looked him square in the eye. Despite being weak, she had the same fire in her.

"Sirius Black, you take _damn_ good care of my best friend and your daughter. Don't let them come to this." She gestured to the tent around her. "Audrey's the only hope that we all have…if she's gone…I don't know…"

Sirius nodded.

"Promise me." She commanded.

"I promise, Teagan. I will protect them."

Teagan's eyes traveled down the tent, she could see Audrey comforting Luc, Chantal's father.

"D'you want me to call them over?" Sirius asked softly.

Teagan shook her head. "Give them a moment to be with Catherine."

"I'm so sorry, Teagan." Sirius whispered, stroking her hand.

Teagan let out a shaky sigh. "It's alright…I've always had a feeling my life would…end like this."

"How?" Sirius asked.

"I…don't know. I just...did…" She replied, her eyes not leaving him.

**Considering her injuries, she was highly functioning. I was amazed.**

"Teagan." said a soft mournful voice.

"_Bonjour, monsieur_." Teagan said weakly, a small smile.

"Mon dieu, what's happened to you?" He asked, kneeling next to her on the same side as Audrey.

"I don't really remember…" Teagan blinked. "It happened very fast…I was battling…the cottage collapsed…"

Luc was muttering in his native tongue, he stroked Teagan's hair.

"Teagan, why did they come? What did they want?" He asked.

"I…don't know…they came because they could…one of the men…he kept asking me… _Where's your friend_…_where's your friend_…I didn't know what he meant…I didn't understand…" Teagan said, looking around the tent.

"They hurt everyone…" A few tears rolled down her cheeks.

Audrey's head snapped up, looking down the aisle. Sirius turned to see that she had spotted Chantal. In a flash, the veela was with them. Chantal hugged Audrey with such great force that she nearly caught her off balance. There were muffled sobs; all that could be heard was _Why?_

Teagan was withering away, and Sirius decided he'd leave them to be in private with her. He wanted to go find the Order.

_**We all had our own time with her, Luc went first, his was the shortest. He was a broken man trying to comprehend the loss around him. I couldn't imagine how he felt, Chantal was all he had now.**_

_**Chantal went next, naturally she took a while…There were so many words we wanted to say, but didn't know where to begin. What do you say to your dying friend? I was so anxious, scared, confused, and angry. I was angry with my friend for refusing the help that she so easily could have gotten. I was angry with the world that did not accept us, angry with the humans who hurt her.**_

"_Audrey." _Teagan said, with a small smile.

"_Teagan, you're the first person other than my daughter to speak banshee to me in so long." _She replied, giving a watery smile and holding her hand.

"_She's a gifted child, Audrey. I've seen it...Very gifted..._" Teagan replied_. "I'm also speaking our tongue because the Healers piss me off…I don't want them to eavesdrop."_

Audrey gave a nervous laugh, some things never changed.

"_Or maybe it's the external bleeding going to my head…I don't know…Look, before I go off on my delusional rambles there's something **you** need to know."_

Audrey looked at her, listening intently.

"_They're looking for you…you and your daughter...they want you both...they have drawings of what they think you look like…" _Teagan coughed_. "They were shouting about how they were going to tear every colony to pieces until they found you…when they asked us all…we said we did not know you…"_

Audrey shook, her eyes rapidly changing colors.

_**It was because of me…it was my fault. They would not speak my location, and for that…they suffered. It was a familiar feeling I knew all too well.**_


	89. Chapter 89

This chapter is a bit on the short side.

It is with sadness that I report that this will be my last chapter until **mid-March**. My next break is around the 14th of March and I'm off for a good week, so I'm hoping to pump out two or three chapters, maybe more if I'm lucky.

For those of you going back to University for the spring semester, or anyone going back to school – Good luck with your classes! Remember, your physical and mental health is more important than your GPA. (That's something I need to remember too.)

10 points to you if you recognize something in this chapter. ;)

**Thanks for the reviews, CharlotteBlackwood, Nova5621, and thewritternword87 (D'aww shucks, you're sweet.) :D**

**Reviews if you're alive, please? :P**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 89

"How is she?" Remus asked, as he walked with Sirius around the debris. It was beginning to snow.

"Terrible, of course…She's keeping herself pretty well together…but I can see it's killing her." Sirius sighed, looking up at the sky. "I-I can't imagine what that's like…if I ever saw you, Marly, James, Lily, or Sarah like that…I wouldn't be able to deal with myself."

Remus nodded, he then stopped in his tracks. Sirius gave him an odd look, Remus pointed to his ear. Sirius listened; he could hear something very faintly.

"Marlene?" He asked, looking at his friend.

Remus nodded. "She's on the other side of the clearing, she's helping look for survivors."

"Remus?" Marlene's voice was louder now.

He exchanged a look with Sirius and the two began to run to the other side of the clearing.

**Marlene, Lily, James and a few other Order members stood in a circle around a section of debris. As we got closer, there was this tiny, weak, noise. It sounded like a cross between a scream and someone gasping for air.**

"What's going on?" Remus asked, as they reached their friends.

Remus and Sirius made their way around their friends, trying to see whom they were talking about.

She was this tiny little thing, not much bigger than Anastasia. She was curled up in a ball, inside of a burnt, hollow tree.

**She looked like a miniature version of Airleas.**

"She won't let us touch her." James said, frowning. "She doesn't seem to trust us…"

"Understandable." said Thayer, the vampire Sirius had met earlier with his wife and Edgar. "If I hadn't met ye' I wouldn't trust ye' either."

Sirius scowled, everyone but Thayer saw. They'd ask him about it later.

The Order members watched as Thayer crouched down to meet the small banshee. He extended a hand to her, but she backed further into the tree.

"I guess she doesn't trust vampires, either." Remus mused, looking at Thayer.

"Werewolf?" He asked, his eyes scanning Remus.

He nodded.

"I'm going to get Audrey." Marlene said, breaking off from the group and running to the medical tent.

"Why didn't I think of that?" James asked, scratching his head.

"Well, she's been in the tent for a while." Sirius replied.

"How's Teagan?" Lily asked.

"Not so well." replied Sirius, frowning. "She was hit hard."

There was a small gust of wind, and Audrey appeared next to her husband.

"What's going on?" She asked, her eyes were red from crying. She wiped them quickly.

"There's a small banshee hiding in that tree." James said, pointing. "She's just a child, she's wounded…"

_**There was such a heavy sadness that I felt for the child, she was most likely orphaned. She had seen so much; I could only imagine how frightened she must have been.**_

"Can she shriek?" Audrey asked quietly.

"She's been trying to, but it seems she's either hoarse or something happened to her." replied Remus.

Audrey got down on her hands and knees and crawled closer to the burnt log.

"_It's okay_." She called, into the log. "_We're not going to hurt you, I promise_."

The group watched her; unsure of the words she spoke.

"_How do you speak_?" asked the little one.

Audrey gave a tiny laugh.

"_I am like you, but different. My mother was a banshee, my father was something else…a crossbreed, so to speak_."

The child came closer to the opening of the log, looking at Audrey with wide eyes.

"_You look like us_." She said.

Audrey nodded with a small smile, she let her teeth change to the sharp points that people rarely saw. The child gave a small smile.

"_What is your name?"_ Audrey asked softly.

"_Isabelle_." said the child.

**Her name was the only thing we understood, she had a very small French accent.**

"_It's lovely to meet you, Isabelle. My name is Audrey_." She replied. "Et tu parles francais, ouais?"

"Ouais, je viens de Calais." said the child.

"Well I'll be damned, she speaks French." said Thayer, looking around at the others.

"_I don't like him_." said Isabelle, switching to her native tongue. She nodded her head at Thayer. "_He is strange…I've never seen someone like him before…_"

"_Have you ever heard the tale of Ivonne et l' étrange prince_?"

"_Yes_." She replied.

"_He is like the prince…he consumes blood_." Audrey said.

"_They're real_?" The child's eyes widened.

Audrey nodded with a small smile and pointed to Edgar. "_He's one too, he's a very good friend of mine. They are mostly very kind_."

Edgar waved to the Isabelle, she waved back, still nervous.

"_He's harmless, like a thestral_." Audrey smiled.

The child looked very unsure.

"_Won't you come out_?" Audrey asked softly. "_I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, I promise_."

Isabelle slowly crawled out of the log, blood caked all over her.

_**Isabelle was the only child recovered at the site, I was grateful and horrified. What had they done to the young?**_

Audrey picked her up and balanced her on her hip.

"_Let's get you cleaned up_." Audrey said, walking with the child. "_There's someone I'd like for you to meet_."

"Where are you going?" James asked.

Audrey turned around and replied.

"To get her treated of course!"

There were murmurs when the two arrived in the tent.

"Is that a child?"  
>"I didn't think…"<br>"I don't believe it.

"_I'll be right back_." Audrey said.

"_Do you promise?_" The child asked, she was frightened.

"_I promise, Isabelle_." Audrey gave her a small smile.

Audrey made her way to the left side of the tent; it was getting harder with every step. She didn't want to see them again…the images were forever burned in her mind. She looked down as she walked.

"Luc?" Audrey asked quietly.

He turned around.

_**I had never seen someone so broken before.**_

"I…I want you to meet someone."

"Audrey, I don't think I'm really up for-"

"Luc, please. She needs you just as much as you'll need her. She's no more than six years old…" Audrey choked.

"A child?" Luc asked, shocked.

"She's the youngest survivor."

"Take me to her." Luc demanded.

_**We left the clearing just as the sun began to set, we couldn't risk leaving in the dark. Luc had swiftly made the decision that Isabelle was to live with him. After what had happened to Catherine, Tara, and Tierney, I understood why. For the last four years, we knew what happened to these colonies, but we never thought they would rob us of our loved ones.**_

_**Anastasia slept at the Weasley's that night, I had a feeling Arthur had told Molly that Sirius and I were emotionally drained. It hadn't fully hit me until we were finally home. My body felt so heavy, I didn't want to move.**_

_**This was the start of the nights we did not discuss…the nights where I would not speak a word and Sirius would drown his sorrows. I envied him in the beginning…it's nearly impossible for creatures to become intoxicated. Remus and I were always the sober friends at the parties. **__**Sirius was normally a magnified sap when he was drunk, but the times have changed.**_

_**And so had he.**_


	90. Chapter 90

SUMMER BREAK! WHOOHOO

This semester has been absolutely **insane** for me, a lot of work, a blizzard, somehow a boyfriend popped into the picture, and then a bombing. (For those of you who don't know, I attend school in Boston.) I'm sorry that I couldn't update over my March break. I hope you all are healthy and happy!

LOOOOOONG CHAPTER…hehe. So the one thing that's super odd in this chapter is the names…if you've read DLLH, you'll get it. ;)

I haven't written in a little while, so I might be rusty. :X

Thanks for the reviews, thewrittenword87, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, Charlotte, NamikazeMia, and flamesflyer. (10 points to you for that Friend's reference. That's one of my favorite episodes)

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 90

A few weeks after the massacre in Paz, on a snowy day in March, a familiar phoenix landed in the yard outside.

Audrey shivered.

_**Fawkes reminded me of blood in the snow.**_

"Mama, it's Fawkes." Asia said, pulling on Audrey's sweater.

"Yes." Audrey said quietly, opening the window. The Phoenix turned and flew into the kitchen, carrying an envelope.

_Urgent news, meet me at the Potluck dinner at 6 pm._

_AD_

_**As the war took it's toll, it became harder and harder to trust anyone. Mail was always being intercepted. So Albus had taken to writing random words in messages. The Order had a code; certain words and numbers meant different things to throw off anyone who was on the outside.**_

_**Meeting at "6 pm" actually meant meeting at 7:45 pm, no earlier, and no later. Potluck dinner was this week's password to get into the Hogshead.**_

"Audrey!" said a voice from the kitchen.

She walked over to the fireplace and saw Marlene's head.

"What d'you think it is?" She asked, obviously referring to Albus' message.

"I don't know, Marls." Audrey replied, scratching her head. "Hopefully something ground breaking…I don't think I can handle anymore bad news."

She still shook when she thought of Teagan. Part of her was furious that her friend would not take any medical treatment. Though she knew that if she were in Teagan's position, she would do the same.

_**Whenever Albus had said that the meeting was urgent, we always had to bring the children. Every member had to be there; we couldn't leave our children alone.**_

_**Anastasia had experienced this before, Sirius and I had taught her how she should behave when we were moving from place to place. She always stayed under my cloak, with her head down. My colleagues were always so surprised at how quiet she was. The Weasley and Wood families always had to set up a safe floo connection to get all of their children there.**_

Audrey looked around at the snow-covered streets, making sure no one was around. She knocked on the door quickly.

"What's going on tonight?" asked a familiar voice behind the door.

"A potluck dinner of course." Audrey replied.

Aberforth opened the door, grabbed Audrey roughly by the arm and pulled her in. He removed her hood and held a wand to her throat.

"Prove to me that you are Audrey." He hissed.

Audrey could feel her daughter clinging very tightly to her, she flashed her eyes a few different colors. Aberforth relaxed.

"Sorry, Audrey. We can't be too careful now-a-days." He said, taking her cloak from her. Asia stared at Aberforth with wide eyes; Audrey could sense she was still frightened and confused.

"Don't worry, child." He said, crouching down to her height. "I won't hurt ye' or your mum."

"Come on, let's go find your cousins." Audrey said, taking Asia's hand.

Audrey was the last person to arrive in the basement; everyone stared at her as she took her seat.

"Did I do something?" She asked, confused.

"Not that I know of…unless-OW" said Sirius with a sly grin. Marlene smacked him; this was clearly not the time to make a joke.

"Thanks, Marly." Audrey mouthed.

"Now that we're all here, I must inform you of some rather grave news."

Glances were exchanged around the table and Audrey squeezed Sirius' hand. She didn't know if she could take any more deaths.

"While I was here last night, interviewing for a new professor of divination, I came across a peculiar woman…the great granddaughter of a famous seer." Albus said, beginning to pace at the end of the table. "She gave a subpar interview…"

"Where is he going with this?" James whispered out of the side of his mouth.

"Just shut up and listen." said Remus, elbowing him.

"As I turned to leave, she started to convulse and then she spoke a prophecy…something that concerns a few of us in this very room."

"What did it say, Albus?" said Jon Wood.

"_T__he one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."_

"That could be either Frank and Alice or Lily and James…" Audrey breathed, realizing.

The four Marauders paled, a rare thing for them.

Lily looked down at her growing stomach; July was only 4 months away. Her lip quivered.

_**It was the first time I had truly seen Lily frightened…she was definitely turning into a mother. **_

There was a thick blanket of silence.

"What do we do?" Alice asked, looking around the room.

"You'll have to go into hiding." said Minerva, Albus nodded in agreement.

"Arrangements must be made for both of you. We will have to keep you in safe areas."

_July_

Audrey stared at the newspaper on the floor.

"PREWETT FAMILY FOUND DEAD IN HOME."

After several fire calls, she managed to get in touch with Arthur, who confirmed that Molly was okay. She sat on the chaise, waiting for Sirius to get back.

There was a gust and a thud.

"Audrey, love? Are you home?"

"Yes!" She called.

"Have you heard?" He asked nervously.

"Yes, dear…it's in the Prophet. I got in touch with Arthur, Molly's alive and safe."

"Oh thank merlin." Sirius breathed, shaking his head. "This bloody war..."

_**Sleepless nights were becoming the normal… If it wasn't my dreams that kept me awake, it was the shaken, empty feeling I had after arguing and fighting with Sirius. But every time I closed my eyes I saw things that did not make sense. **_

_Audrey found herself walking down a dirt road towards a small stone cottage, which appeared to be an inn._

_1031 Rød Gade, read the sign._

_The inn had only three rooms, two of which were empty. She pushed open the thick wood door of the third room to find the strange man she had always seen in her dreams. He was sitting on the bed. He looked just as tired as she was, but he wore the same smile he always had when he saw her._

_"Hey…" He said softly, as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his temple._

_**I had always felt so strange seeing myself kiss another man…but we cannot believe everything that we see.**_

_"Hi." She replied, muffled into his shoulder. "You look exhausted, love."_

_He let out a raspy chuckle._

_"Aye lass, still not feeling top notch." He replied. "You don't look so well yourself…too much travelin'?"_

_She nodded into his shoulder, after a few seconds of silence she spoke. "I have something to tell you…"_

_"I have something too…" He replied, wringing his hands. He was nervous…something was wrong. She pulled his hands apart and held them in her own. He let out a shaky laugh, knowing that she knew him all too well. "You first…" He urged._

_Asia took a deep breath, blinking tears out of her eyes before they fell again. "Jyeminsn's sister is missing…"_

_**Names were always garbled in my dreams…who were these people? And why could I not hear their names?**_

_His face contorted into a look of rage and pain after registering this. He yelled and threw the clock on the nearby nightstand at the wall with incredible force. It shattered into millions of pieces._

_"Oodwliv…" She rushed closer to him, incredibly concerned. "Whats wrong?"_

_He shook slightly, angry and distraught._

_"Nlei is missing…"_

She didn't say anything; she just wrapped her arms around him.

_He shoved her away in a second and she toppled off of the bed and fell to the floor._

_"Ooodwliv" She said from the floor, propping herself up. "I'm sorry…"_

_"ME BROTHER IS GONE AND THAT'S ALL YOU CAN FUCKING SAY?" He roared._

_Audrey swallowed…this was so familiar, an echo of the past...was this really happening? It was reminiscent of the argument she had with Sirius earlier in the evening. He was drunk, and lamenting over poor Regulus._

She stared at the strange man, with hollow eyes, waiting for him to speak.

_He didn't hesitate._

_"THIS IS __**YOUR**__ FAULT." He roared, but it sounded like he was miles away. Everything was spinning. "THIS WHOLE BLOODY WAR."_

Audrey woke with a start and stared around the bedroom. The curtains were drawn it was pitch black. She listened for Sirius' breathing, but it was silent.

She delicately twisted her right hand and each fingertip lit up. She quietly made her way to the door, opened and closed it, and tiptoed down the hallway.

The lights were still on in the sitting area, Sirius passed out on the couch. Audrey observed him for a moment, shaking her head.

_**He looked so weak and defenseless as he slept, such a drastic change from the life he led awake.**_

Audrey checked on her daughter, and then retreated back to the master bedroom. She was tired and her head was spinning, she needed to rest.

She woke the next morning to find Sirius' arms wrapped around her.

"Hi." He said quietly, as she turned to face him.

"Hello." She replied, stretching. "Weren't you on the couch?"

"I got up a little after you went back to bed, I think." He said thoughtfully. "I heard you wandering around."

"That was I." Audrey confirmed, turning away from him. He raised his head over her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

"I am _so_ sorry about last night." He said. "I was a complete arse-"

"Merlin, really? I wouldn't have known!" Audrey replied sarcastically.

Sirius bit his lip for a moment.

**I couldn't deny that she had **_**every**_** right to be furious with me. Our fighting was one of three things I wish I could have changed of the past.**

"I really didn't mean anything I said last night…"

"Some say that drunken minds speak sober thoughts, Sirius." Audrey replied.

"While that may be true," Sirius began. "I don't regret who I chose to spend the rest of my life with. We have our differences and our moments, but at the end of the day I don't want anyone else but you. This war has taken a toll on us, and it's terrible. Some days I wake up and just think to myself…any of us could be next, I don't know."

"We can't think like that." Audrey turned to face him, blinking back a few tears. "We'll both go mad."

"Who's to say you aren't already?" said a familiar voice.

Marlene and Remus stood in their doorway.

"Bloody hell!" Sirius shot up, covering his bare chest with the duvet. "Don't you two ever knock? I'm naked!"

Marlene snorted.

"It's nothing we haven't seen before, Sirius." Remus joked.

"What's going on?" Audrey asked, sitting up.

"Aunt Lily had the baby!" said Anastasia, who appeared from behind Remus' leg.

"WHAT?" Sirius said, grinning.

"When?!" Audrey exclaimed.

"Early this morning." replied Remus. "We just got the owl from James two hours ago. He told us to retrieve you lot."

"Well, what are you waiting for…get dressed! I want to see the baby!" said Marlene, tapping her foot.


	91. Chapter 91

Apologies! I meant to publish this chapter yesterday but I was having technical difficulties! Anyway...We're moving forward! You'll hear a lot from Audrey in this chapter, more than usual. I'm really excited for the next few chapters. They're pre-written and I've been waiting so LONG to publish them. They'll need to go through a little editing so this may take a day or two.

Thanks for the reviews, thewrittenword87, Weasleytwinslover87, Ali, and HandsomHolly! :D

**Hey, so…shits about to get real in this story. You might want to review. ;P (…Please?!)**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 91

_**It seemed to take hours to get to the hospital, when in reality it only took minutes. Sirius and I always had to take precaution when apparating, especially with our daughter. Albus had given us orders to stay hidden, and by 'us' I mean my daughter and I. The toll was just beginning…but that is a tale for another time.**_

_**The end of 1980 was a good year, really. Despite all the sadness, there were little reminders of hope. James and Lily finally started their family; they named their little boy Harry, after James' father of course. Marlene and Remus were due to tie the knot in August, after waiting nearly 3 years.**_

_**The McKinnon family held the wedding in a manor that belonged to Marlene's great Aunt. As with all of the other Order of the Phoenix weddings, they were worried about guard. **_

_**Not only was I the Maid of Honor, I was also the Chieftain of the Guard…much to Alastor Moody's dismay.**_

"Look at you." Sirius growled at Audrey, as she was getting ready.

"Well, you know…I am the Maid of Honor." Audrey smirked, fixing her hair. "…and the Chieftain of the guard."

"So my date won't be my date tonight?" Sirius pouted.

"As the Maid of Honor, it's my duty to make sure no one fucks up this wedding, Sirius." Audrey laughed.

"Good point, love." He pecked her cheek. "Plus…I replaced you…"

"Oh?" Audrey turned to face him, skeptical.

Sirius nodded, then whistled.

Anastaisa shyly walked in, wearing a well fitted red dress with a white bow tied around the waist.

"Ooooh!" Audrey cooed. "She's lovely, far lovelier than I."

Sirius grinned as his daughter hid behind his leg.

"Why so shy when receiving compliments, love?" He said.

"She's an entertainer by blood." Audrey smiled.

"We need to stop letting Hisoka babysit." Sirius mumbled under his breath, Audrey giggled.

_**The wedding was lovely, and thankfully uninterrupted.**_

_**As the next few weeks went on, the seasons changed. Fall was always a happy time for me, when I was younger it meant returning to school. Now that we were in the middle of a war, I was hardly aware of the seasons.**_

_**Traveling and performing became difficult that year; the news only became worse as the time dragged on. The Prophet may have left out half of the horrid atrocities that occurred, but that didn't mean that we did not hear of them.**_

_**At that time, I only made performance accommodations for my highest paying patrons. They were generally in the safest of places, but as certain countries fell under the Dark Lord's regime, I stopped entertaining those clients.**_

_**I still made trips to see Blake. By the end of 1980; he was the only client that I still saw. As you can imagine, I was rather unhappy that my career was in shambles due to this terrible war. I wasn't sure how any of the other entertainers were doing…I wasn't even sure if they were alive…**_

_**In September, I recall visiting Blake. At the end, as I was packing up my belongings, I heard hushed voices down the hall. I knew that Edgar and Blake were talking about something they did not want me to hear. A muffliato charm was cast, which is what made it so difficult to discern their words.**_

_**It was at an Order of the Phoenix meeting two weeks after, that I had figured it out…**_

"There are certain matters we must discuss today, regarding families and children." Albus said, pacing around the floor of the Hogshead.

"We have the Longbottoms and the Potters, both of their sons are prime targets right now. I believe that Godric's Hollow is the safest place right now, with the right enchantments of course…a number of our allies live in that village as well."

The couples nodded, cooperating. There was more banter between them and the Headmaster, but Audrey tuned it out.

_**I must say I wasn't surprised at their reactions. They were new parents, and the fear that crept into them was so natural yet unnatural. The circumstances were odd, especially for human beings. Normally, a human would never have to worry about a Dark Wizard targeting their child. That was the privilege of being human in the magical world, not having to worry that your child will be hunted for who they are. This prophecy really had changed things…I expected Frank and Alice to cooperate, Lily too, but not James. He was always so hot headed, like Sirius.**_

_**I was snapped out of my daze when I heard my name.**_

"…Audrey and little Anastasia. That is a difficult decision. Edgar tells me that a client of yours has repeatedly offered to shelter you in Australia."

_**It was then that I figured out **__exactly__** what Edgar had done.**_

"Why?" Audrey hissed at her mentor, there was a thick silence cast over the room as the other members watched. "What have you done?!" There was a sense of alarm in her voice.

"He offered you a safe haven…he offered you an _escape_!" Edgar replied quickly, exasperated.

"_Me_." Audrey replied in a low voice. "He only offered **me** a safe haven. Not my husband, nor my daughter…he doesn't know they exist. What ever happened to my personal life and my professional life not being intertwined?"

"Sometimes we have to take steps in life that we do not desire." Edgar argued back. "Australia is a hell of a lot safer than here."

She turned to Hisoka. "I was such a fool to let you push me towards Blake, you knew…and so did he!" She pointed at Edgar.

"I did not sign up for this…" She looked between the two with narrow red eyes. "I did not sign up to be thrown around and fooling men into believing I'm interested in them so that they could provide me a shelter!"

_**I felt the heaviest guilt shake my bones, I thought of my father…How many times over the years had he objected my choice in profession? He tried to hard to keep me away from it…**_

"Ayla, you know how _**they**_ see us, no matter what we are they all look at us the same. We do not become entertainers for our dreams, we become them because there isn't another way!" Hisoka replied with an edge to her voice.

_**The sad truth was, she was right.**_

"Your alibi could _save_ _your_ _life_!" Edgar shot in. "You've yet to think or care of that these last few months!"

"It's because I do not care for it." Audrey snapped back. "And I haven't for over three years now."

_**I had been dead for a long time, a broken heart can do that, you know. Some would say I have been very lucky, my heart has only been broken three times in my life. But the pain was far too excruciating…I think that this last one has definitely killed me…**_

I don't care if he kills me, I just care about her." Audrey pointed upstairs to where the children slept. "and him." She pointed at Sirius.

"You seem to forget that he's coming for _you_! Not them!" Edgar snarled. "He doesn't even know about the child's ability. For all he knows the child is human!"

"He is smarter than that, Edgar. I'm sure he knows what the child is." Albus interjected, his eyes traveling between student and mentor.

"He does know." Audrey said quietly. "Regulus told me he knows…he wants her too."

"You could send her with anyone in this room." Edgar reasoned. "A child is far more concealable."

"No, I cannot.." Audrey said, her eyes fiiling with tears as she glared around the room.

"Why not?" Edgar said, staring her down.

"Because someone in this room will betray us." Audrey didn't blink.

"And what makes you think that, Audrey?" Albus asked, intrigued. Sirius could see something in his eyes, a calculation.

"I can feel it in my bones." Audrey replied without falter. "The feeling comes to me everytime we have a meeting."

"_Bull_shit." Edgar hissed. "The sight is such a rare gift, it couldn't have been passed to you with your _eclectic_ gene pool."

Audrey was about to snap back when a twitching Peter Pettigrew broke the tense silence that surrounded the argument.

"How do we know that _you're_ not a traitor?" He piped in, shaking nervously. "How do we know you're not on his side?"

Before anyone could react, Audrey's eyes turned black, her hair stood on end, she leaned over the table staring at him. He stared at her in fright.

"HE MURDERED MY PARENTS AND HE IS THREATENING MY CHILD'S SAFETY" Audrey snarled, slamming her fist onto the table. "HOW DARE YOU EVEN _INSINUATE_ THAT I AM ON _HIS_ SIDE."

The other members gave Peter a look, there was a small silence. Audrey composed herself quickly. Her hair became sleek and straight again, her eyes back to normal.

"Anyway," Edgar continued. "He's obviously going to think that the child is at your side. Send her away, split up the family and you'll all come out of this alive."

"He has a point, Mr. and Mrs. Black…perhaps you should consider…" Albus interjected.

"Seperation?" Sirius was incredulous. "So now we're just going to live in _fear_ of him?"

_**It was moments like this where I was greatful for Sirius' stubbornness.  
><strong>_  
>Audrey shook her head, cradling her head in her hands. Molly rubbed her back.<p>

"You don't have many other options." Albus said gravely.

"Look, with all due respect, I'm backing my wife up. If she believes that someone in this room is going to turn sides, I don't want to take the risk of leaving our daughter with them." Sirius said.

"And if it's someone trust worthy who you wouldn't doubt for a second?" Edgar asked. "Like James, Hisoka, Remus, myself?"

"Honestly, I'm going to back Sirius and Audrey up as well." said James, chiming in. "Lily and I would take Asia in a heartbeat, without question. But I believe that Anastasia should be with her parents. They shouldn't have to miss out on her growing up."

"And Audrey is one of the most powerful people in this room." Remus chimed in.

"Audrey-san _is_ the most powerful in this room." said Hisoka, speaking for the first time in a while.

"And Sirius is one of the best combatants here, I believe that they would be most fit to protect thier child." said James.

_**The matter was dropped a few moments later, Edgar left the Hogshead in a huff.  
><strong>_  
>"I feel bad, oneesan." Audrey said, looking at the ornate red carpet below her feet.<p>

_**Hisoka had returned with me to Oxshott that afternoon for tea.**_

"Edgar only has your best interests in mind, Ayla." Hisoka said, taking a sip of her tea. "He promised your father that he would protect you."

"I know…" Audrey sighed. "But I cannot leave my husband and my daughter."

She looked out the window, the leaves were beginning to change colors.

_103110311031103110311031103110311031103110311031_

_Audrey felt so tired and weak. She had never felt this way before._

_Audrey shakily got up from the floor. Nearly falling twice, and made her way towards the bottom of the stairs where two people lay. She couldn't really tell who it was; she had a bit of double vision. She fell on her knees in front of the two, they were both breathing, and then she noticed it._

_Fiery red hair._

_The scene changed quickly. Suddenly, Mr. Ollivander, the wandmaker was there with a house elf.__  
><em>_  
><em>_Mr. Ollivander took one of the elf's hands, and Audrey took the other, with her other hand she firmly held onto the familiar Scottish man she had seen in her dreams._

_Audrey held her breath, why was this apparition so tense? They fell to the ground; she felt the sand under her face. As soon as they arrived the house elf left._

_The man lay face up, looking at the greyish sky. The light was blinding, though the sun wasn't out. How long had it been since either of them had been in full light?_

_Mr. Ollivander was sitting up. "Alright you two?"_

_"I think so." Audrey said, her companion however, shook his head lightly. His breathing was shallow._

_Mr. Ollivander stood up. "I'm going to run and get help."_

_He fell trying to climb halfway up the hill, it had been a while since his muscles had been in full use._

_He looked as though he was sinking into himself. In the full light Audrey truly saw how awful he looked. She tried to yell for help but her throat ached so badly, and nothing came._

_And then she saw them._

_There were a few tiny pebbles within her reach. She didn't know how much she weight she could hold…but it was worth a try._

_She flicked her fingers, and the pebbles went flying up the hill. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard a plink._

_They hit the window._

_No response._

_She kept going…She had to…_

_10311031103110311031103110311031103110311031_

Audrey woke with a start.

_**This had to stop.**_

_**I needed to find out the truth…and I needed to do it before I lost my chance.**_


	92. Chapter 92

Short chapter, leading to another short chapter, leading to normal sized chapters again. The next part of the story has been written out for months, it's just a matter of me breaking it up properly. So we'll see what happens…expect a spam of chapters.

Thanks for the reviews, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx (I always love your reviews. :D), thewrittenword87 (Your feelings are correct.), and CharlotteBlackwood (Audrey should punch him in the face with a rock, you're right.)!

Hey…hey you! Yes, you! No, not you…the one behind you! Yeah! You! Review? :P

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 92

_**The fall swept by us, the news was always the same, destruction and death…it seemed to follow us around. **_

_**My travels outside of England became less and less…some of my clients went into hiding, a few had been missing for months, and others were found dead in their homes. Even the world with the lavish double life I had led was falling to shambles. It had seemed that everything I had worked for in the last two decades only had the purpose of being destroyed in the end.**_

"AUDREEEEEEEEEEEEEEY." screamed a familiar voice.

Marlene was outside of their flat, banging excitedly on the door.

"Don't even have to ask her a security question." Audrey mumbled to herself, smirking. Marlene's behavior was always so different around her best friend.

As soon as she opened the door, Marlene hugged her tightly.

"Yes, m'lady?" Audrey replied, holding her at arms length.

Marlene wore a very excited grin, Audrey knew that face well.

"You have good news?"

Marlene nodded.

"Well? On with it! Spit it out!" Audrey nudged.

"I'M PREGNANT!" Marlene squealed.

There weren't words, just hugs and excited screams. Sirius had just apparated into the flat after being relieved of his shift.

"Oi! What is this?" He said, jumping around next to them, acting as if he were there all along.

Marlene did a lead around Audrey and Sirius and stopped.

"Remus and I are having a baby." She grinned.

"WHAT!?" Sirius yelled, picking up the blonde and twirling her around. "I'm going to be an uncle again?!"

_**That was the only good news that the season brought us, other than that we were all still breathing. As November flew by us, it became unseasonably cold…at least, that's what Sirius had told me. My tolerance of the winter has always been rather high after spending time in Russia as a child.**_

_**December of 1980 was by far the worst month that came with my dreams. I barely slept…**_

Audrey sat on the windowsill, looking outside at the heavy snowfall. Sirius watched her from the doorframe.

"Alright there?" He asked as he made his way to her.

Audrey turned, giving him a small smile.

"Yeah…I'm just happy to see it's snowing…but I just feel so strange."

"I'm sure it's nothing." Sirius said, knowing very well it was a lie. Sirius knew what today was, but he never mentioned it to Audrey. He didn't want to remind her of the pain.

"Merry Christmas, Audrey." He whispered, placing his lips on her temple.

"Merry Christmas, Sirius." She replied, turning back towards the window.


	93. Chapter 93

Ye olde short chapter.

Hey…hey you! Yes, you! No, not you…the one behind you! Yeah! You! Review? :P

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 93

_**We had a quiet Christmas Eve, the Potters and the Lupins stopped by for a while earlier in the evening. It was always a solemn holiday for me, though after Anastasia was born I slipped into character... I did not want my daughter knowing that I had found this day to be damned.**_

_**It wasn't very late in the evening when I had noticed my husband lightly snoring on the sofa. Sirius was hugging Asia to his chest, both were breathing in rhythm. I saw him differently when he was with her…he was a mature man.**_

_**My heart fluttered.**_


	94. Chapter 94

Thanks for the review, thewrittenword87!

Reviews are nice and stuff… :P

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 94

"Is this the place, we used to love? Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?"  
>- Somewhere Only We Know, Keane<p>

_**Six years.**_

_**It had been six years.**_

_**I set off down the familiar streets, the snow was crunching under every step I took. Everything was barren, nothing was alive. There were no decorations, no colors, no festivities, it was the dead of night. Whenever I had seen pictures from the winter, everything had been lit up, happy. I suppose that was gone now, and I hadn't missed much since I was last here.**_

_**I passed through the square, and crossed onto an avenue I knew well. I pulled my cloak closer to myself, and I wondered if it was so cold because I was up north or if it was because the place I had once adored was now dead to me.**_

Audrey stopped at a red brick building she knew all too well, entered the side door cautiously and climbed the staircases to the third floor.

The hallway seemed more dilapidated now, there were burn marks everywhere from the floor to the walls, a few panes were missing from the window, sending a draft in. Some of the doors had been blown off their hinges, or barely hanging on by a single hinge. The insides of the rooms resembled the hallways, and there was blood in splotches on some of the floors. Her eyes welled up with tears.

_**What had happened here?**_

It was much to her relief that the door for apartment 1031 was still intact, she kept her hood up, concealing most of her face and hair.

_Knock, knock, knock._

There was a small whirring sound and the peephole appeared, a shocking blue eye stared back at her, opened the door quickly, grabbed her by her robes and yanked her into the room.


	95. Chapter 95

Oh, look, the chapters are getting a little longer again. There's a little hommage to the 7th book in this chapter.

Thanks for the reviews, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx. To answer your question: yes, we are getting close.

Reviews are nice and stuff… :P

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 95

She pulled her hood off.

The room was dark and Audrey couldn't confirm if it was who she thought it was, until the lights had been lit.

"Who are you?" Afanasi grumbled, pointing his wand at her throat.

"Audrey Fiona Dalio." Audrey's eyes narrowed, surprised that the vampire would even interrogate her.

"Prove it." Afanasi hissed.

Audrey let her eyes flash yellow, then let a gust of wind move some papers off of the dingy table.

Afanasi sighed, lowering his wand, pulling her into a hug and then holding her at shoulders length.

"My…how you have grown…I'm so sorry." He said, giving her a sad smile. "Can't be too cautious nowadays, too many impersonators, too many imperiused."

"I understand, it's the same in England." Audrey said quietly, discarding her cloak. She had been to Afanasi's flat before multiple times with Sven, it now looked a bit dilapidated.

"I don't mean to be rude when I ask this, Audrey…but _why_ have you returned? St. Petersburg is not what it used to be! It's more dangerous than ever before, if someone were to see you here…I don't even want to think of what would happen!" Afanasi exclaimed, pointing his wand at the tea kettle in the kitchen, it began to whistle. Two cups flew to the table and he sat, motioning for her to do the same.

"I don't know…" Audrey began, staring at her cup for a moment. "I've just been having all these weird dreams, visions, and your flat kept coming up. 1031, 1031, over and over."

Afanasi was listening to her with rapt attention.

"I've always meant to come back, Af. I have… even after-" Audrey choked for a moment, tears filled her eyes. "After the incident, but I just couldn't bring myself to…but something's been pulling me these last few months, I _**needed**_ to come back. I need to know the truth…it's been plaguing me for years, I need to know _why_. Why my family kept a large secret from me, what that secret is, and why everyone else seemed to know it when I didn't."

Afanasi nodded. "It's a good reason to come back, but it will be difficult getting into St. Aleksander's. No one's been in there for six years…or near it for that matter."

Audrey nodded. "I need all the help I can get, and I wanted to know-"

"If I'd be your second?" Afanasi replied, resembling his old self with an all knowing look.

Audrey nodded.

"Of course." He replied.

"And I've got to ask…what of Sven and Karl?" She said, after a few seconds of silence.

Afanasi said nothing, but got up, and strode over to a mirror in his apartment that Audrey had known well. It was a large square with a gold intricate frame. He delicately placed his fingers on the right side of it and there was a click. Slowly, the mirror opened, revealing a large, well cut, circular tunnel. Afanasi motioned for her to go first, and he followed, closing the mirror behind him and lighting his wand. They switched spots and he led the way.

Audrey let her eyes glow in the dark as she crawled and followed him, in the distance she heard murmurs and chatter. Another mirror appeared at the end of the tunnel, and he pushed it lightly.

The chattering stopped, and Audrey couldn't see who was in front of Afanasi, but he hopped down from the tunnel, and helped Audrey out. The murmuring began once more…

"_Is that?"_

"_It can't be."_

"_I heard that they were all dead."_

Audrey saw a crowd of witches and wizards, it was a large room that had several bunk beds, hammocks, cots, and a fireplace. They had a makeshift Christmas tree in there as well.

Before Audrey could ask Afanasi where they were, a voice rang out, a voice that melted Audrey's heart.

"Audrey?"

Karl Gregorovitch pushed his way through the crowd, followed by Sven.

There were no words after that, she hugged both of them tightly, sighing. For the last six years, she had wondered and worried. She studied them both, Karl had a cut up lip and Sven had a visible scar under his eyelid.

"Audrey, what are you doing back here?" Karl asked, holding her at arms length. His blue eyes were shining with a mixture of emotions, happiness, sadness, love.

"I came to know the truth, Karl." Audrey replied calmly. "I need to get into St. Aleksander's palace."


	96. Chapter 96

Hi guys, I'll probably be updating again today seeing as this is pre-written and all.

Thanks for the reviews, thewrittenword87, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, and HandsomHolly! :)

Review if you like tacos. :)

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 96

"Do you know how _dangerous_ that could be?" Sven exclaimed.

"Yes, yes." Audrey replied, waving him off. "Af's already given me that lecture."

"Then we'll just go now." Sven said, determined.

"You need a little more planning before that." spoke an older man. Grigori Gregorovitch emerged from the crowd, who were now all watching them.

"Why's that?" Audrey asked, as Grigori met her halfway and kissed her on the cheek.

"There are several enchantments around various parts of the city that detect _'suspicious activity'_ when they're set off, they all start coming." said one man, doing quotation marks.

"They?" Audrey asked.

"Vladimir's followers, no one knows if he's dead or alive, but they're working alongside You-Know-Who." Karl replied.

_**Vladimir Morozov.**_

Audrey remembered Vladimir all too well.

_**He made regular appearances in my dreams every night for the last month. My family members joined him…always the same messages.**_

_"__We need to get out of here." __Sven whispered in Russian. __"I don't like this."_

_"Nice of you to join the festivities, __printsessa__ Audrey." Said a cold voice._

_Jets of red and green light clouded Audrey's vision; she could hear the screams and yells as if it were still happening._

"_GET OUT OF MY HOME." Edik roared._

_Red.  
>Green.<br>Red.  
>Green.<em>

_Her cousin Jacques came into view._

_"Audrey, they want something from us…they want us dead, all of us. I got here and I found Hans and Peter dead in the entrance hall. Audrey, you're the youngest, and the only one who needs to know-"_

_Jacques never finished his sentence he just began to gasp. Audrey could see the silver blade, coated with blood, shining in the dark._

_The scene changed to the intricate wood floor. She could faintly hear her uncle Ivan._

_"You __must __know the truth, it is in this very palace. Run, find it, before it is too late…I don't know how much longer we can keep them off." Ivan said, blocking a curse. "GO!" He roared._

The scene changed to Edik's study.

_"Do you know how long your family has been hunted for, Audrina?" Vladimir whispered in her ear, stroking her cheek, he laughed. "Seven centuries…and it ends __here__, it finally ends tonight."_

_"And what does that prove?" Audrey hissed, regaining some courage._

_"There's going to be a different world now, a __very __different world." Vladimir grinned._

_"And if I don't wish to join you?" Audrey was defiant._

_"__You have no choice." __He whispered, barely audible in her ear. Audrey didn't want to hear anymore and shoved him away with a large gust of wind, knocking him into the bookshelf. She set off for the exit, he jumped up and tried to grab her but she was too quick._

_She hurtled down the long hallway, dodging the smatter of blood she had slipped in earlier. She was horrified to see more blood and a body of someone unknown laying in the hallway. Vladimir was gaining speed quickly, and at that moment, she confirmed to herself that he was not human…but she couldn't distinguish what he was._

_She began hearing the booms and shouts from the battle and knew she was coming close to the entrance hallway. She used whatever was in the hallway, vases, portraits, and knocked them off with a wind. Any diversion would help her.A few feet away from the doorway though, she felt something on her back and had crashed hard face first onto the ground. Vladimir had jumped on top of her, and had a tight grip on her hair. He pulled her head up as far as it would go._

_"__Don't __test me." He hissed in her ear, his wand at her throat. "Don't say a word."_

_Audrey began to cry, he laughed. "I always enjoy the tears."_

_It was a risk, but Audrey had decided to take it. She let out a scream, hoping someone would hear her over the chaos._

_"Silence!" He roared, slamming her head hard onto the tile, she saw blood. He was pinning her head down like the rest of her body._

_All she could see were the reflections of footsteps slightly up the hallway and through the doorway. She could see them, but she bet they couldn't see her._

_And then, as if by some miracle, Audrey could feel foot steps coming from the entrance hall towards where they were. She couldn't see who they were, but they didn't have a chance to react as Vladimir flourished his wand, within a second and a green light hit them. At the very same moment, Audrey had wiggled away from him and set off, she was horrified to see that the person Vladimir had hit was her Aunt Alina. A permanent look of surprise was etched onto her face…more tears began to fall._

Audrey nodded, coming out of her reverie. She wasn't surprised that no one knew where he was, Vladimir was a man of many tricks.

_**My father had battled Vladimir at St. Aleksander's that night. No one in St. Petersburg knew if he had actually survived.**_

"There's a curfew." said Grigori, his expression grim. "Anyone out after nine without permission, if they're seen or if they set off the enchantments they're hauled away."

"Are they imprisoned?" Audrey asked, her eyes scanning every person in the room. Some nodded, others paled.

"They are imprisoned for a short time…" Sven began.

"Then they're tortured until they either give up information or die." Karl added bitterly.

"Very few have gotten out alive, and some of them are in this very room." Grigori said, gesturing to the crowd.

"How? How have you managed?" Audrey asked, looking around at the three men and the vampire.

"Rescue missions." Sven replied, pointing to the scar under his eye and Karl's cut up lip.

Audrey nodded, taking in some of the survivors. Many of them, the ones that were not laying in beds, were thin, their faces sagged slightly, they looked like beaten up rag dolls.

"Let us talk alone, please." Karl asked to the crowd, they obliged, murmuring and taking seats in various spots. Grigori and Afanasi flicked their wands and a table came crashing over, along with five chairs.

They began to plot.


	97. Chapter 97

Thanks for the reviews, thewrittenword87 and CharlotteBlackwood! :D

Review if you like tacos. :)

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 97

Sven, Karl, Afanasi, and Audrey set out for the old Dalio home.

_**It was snowing heavily, and not a soul was around.**_ _**Christmas was always a joyus time in the city, but now it was empty. There were no decorations, nor celebrations to be found.**_

When they reached the square, Afanasi went first. He looked around, making sure nothing was suspicious.

In the distance, shouts could be heard. A scream pierced the air.

Audrey's instict kicked in, she wanted to help. Karl grabbed her arm, giving her a look.

"We cannot help this time." He said quietly. "You mustn't be seen, Audrey."

Audrey sighed, realizing he was right.

"Hide!" Afanasi whispered.

Karl and Audrey jumped into the fountain nearby. It was a blessing and a curse that it had already been drained for the winter. A thick blanket of snow lay in the basin, Audrey moved her fingers and buried the two of them underneath.

_**We held our breath, and did not move. I had no idea what the new guard was like, but judging by what I had heard from those hiding in Afanasi's apartment, they were not stupid…**_

Audrey listened for passing footsteps, she heard them speak faintly.

She felt Karl's hand move through the snow to hers. She squeezed it, letting him know it was okay to come up.

They crept out of the fountain, meeting with their companions across the square. Audrey could see the familiar white and gold wall.

St. Aleksander's had been through a lot in the last six years. Audrey could see it on the stone walls that surrounded it. A lot of words, posters, and murals coated it's once white and gold walls. The biggest message was written in red paint.

Смерть половины пород

_**Death to half breeds.**_

_**It was a slap in the face…they wanted everyone in St. Petersburg to know that their deaths were just the beginning.**_

Audrey noticed that Karl was watching her. She ran her fingers over the wall…it wasn't red paint. She blinked back tears.

"_There was a riot a week ago_." Karl said, knowing that she was going to ask.

Audrey took a shaky breath.

"_I know_." He said, pulling her into a side hug. "_But there are small shreds of hope in such dark times._"

He took her hand and brought her around the corner to another wall.

Любовь сильнее ненависти.

_**Love is stronger than hatred.**_

Audrey gave a small smile.  
><em><br>"Come_." He said, taking her hand_. "Keep your hood up."_

"_Da."_

_**We could not enter through the main gate as we always did. Instead, we snuck around the back wall. I had forgotten how high the walls were, which scared me. It was not their height, but the fact that they had been placed their to protect the palace. How could they have failed?**_

"Audrey, I need a boost." Sven said, giving his friend a knowing look.

She sighed, looking around to make sure no one was watching.

"One…two…"

Sven stood in a crouching position.

"Don't forget to tuck your knees…three!" She finished, lifting her hand.

A large gust carried Sven over the wall.

"D'you think he's okay?" Audrey bit her lip, she barely heard him land.

"He's been through a lot worse." Karl replied, getting ready for Audrey to send him next.

After Karl, Afanasi climbed the wall himself, mumbling something about being independent. Audrey followed shortly after.

_**Having to go over the wall felt criminal…it felt as though I was a disowned child trying to come home.**_

_**In six years time, the gardens had over grown. What was once a beautiful display had turned into a dead maze of branch and brush. Karl and Sven went first because they had wanted to see if anyone was hiding in the garden.**_

"I doubt there would be anyone other than us." Afanasi said quietly. "Your grandfather had special enchantments on the property."

"Enchantments that didn't stop Vladimir." Audrey replied quietly. "Who's to say those haven't already been broken? Wouldn't we be violating them now if they were still active?"

"You are a blood relative." Afanasi said, as if it were obvious.

"Even blood relatives can be evil, Af." Audrey said, giving him a knowing look. After all, Sirius had some pretty evil family.

"Ivan would have blocked any evil ties to this family, or killed them…" Af replied, as they crept through the dead branches.

"But Sven and Karl went over first, and nothing sounded." Audrey aruged.

_**Though I really needed to get into the palace, I was quite nervous about this whole thing. After all, the last time I was there was not a happy occasion…**_

"It appears that the enchantments have moved beyond the garden to the palace itself." Karl pointed out, his three companions looked ahead.

_**The door in which we were about to enter was glowing red.**_

"You should go first." Sven said to her, giving her a small push.

Audrey took a deep breath and reached for the door handle. The glowing stopped. Audrey exhaled.

"Shall we?" She asked, opening the door.


	98. Chapter 98

Sorry this took so long! Things got a bit busy here, I meant to publish yesterday but this website seems to be having some issues.

Long chapter! Whoohoo.

Thanks for the reviews, thewrittenword87, LizziePixie-Aiko (long time no see! :D), and CharlotteBlackwood.

**Review please? It lets me know people are reading and whatnot. :)**

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!

CHAPTER 98

St. Aleksander's was as dark as the last time Audrey had seen it. There was a blanket of dust that covered the furniture and the floors. There weren't any foot prints in the dust other than the ones they had made. That gave Audrey some reassurance, over the last six years she had wondered if anyone broke into her grandmother's home.

"It couldn't have been this easy." Afanasi said, as they quietly made their way through the main hallway.

"You're right." Audrey nodded, looking around.

_**Within the first few minutes of being inside the palace, I realized how terrible of a thing it was to come back. Everywhere I looked, I was reminded of what had happened… I had passed the spot in the hallway where I slipped in blood, where I watched my Aunt be murdered before my very eyes. **_

_**Every step I took, I felt my heart get heavier and heavier. I remember envying Sirius, who was at home with our daughter, sound asleep.**_

Karl gave her hand a squeeze, Audrey sighed, blinking back some tears.

_**It was harder to hold myself together as we made our way towards the entrance hall. Just as we were about to enter the right door of the hall, the doorway began to glow.**_

The four stepped back, a little alarmed.

_**At the far side of the hall, the dust began to rise. Through that dust, a shape was forming…the shape of a man.**_

They watched as it approached them. Once he came under the moonlight, they recognized him at once.

"Я знал, что ты вернешься" He said.

"_**I knew that you would come back."**_

"Jacques." Audrey whispered, her eyes pooling with tears. Sven, Karl, and Afanasi seemed to be more in shock than she was.

"Why did it take you so long, Audrey?" He asked quietly. "I came for you…"

Karl, Sven, and Afanasi shot her a peculiar look.

"I came for you…nearly a year ago…I am bound to the palace and yet I still was able to come for you…"

"I know." Audrey replied, her voice shook. "I am sorry I took so long…but it was hard to find the right opportunity."

"What is he talking about?" Sven asked her.

"I'll explain later." Audrey said quietly, as she approached her dead cousin. "Dzhek, what did you mean when you said you were bound here?"

"He's dead…" said Afanasi.

"No shit, Merlin." Sven mumbled.

"You didn't let me finish." Afanasi gave him a look. "He's bound to this land. He was murdered here, he has unfinished business. He cannot move on."

"So, would that mean that the rest of the family is here as well?" Karl asked.

"Da." Jacques replied, walking towards them. He passed them and went to the doorway. He pointed down the hallway.

"Alina guards that hallway."

"We didn't see her when we came in." Sven said, perplexed.

"She likes to stay in the shadows." Jacques replied, pointing to a window near the end of the hallway. All they could see was her silhouette.

"Where are the others?" Karl asked.

"Hans and Petro guard the main doors, Ivan roams the top floor, Sophia is always in the gardens-"

"We didn't see her when we came in…" Sven said.

"She knows who you are." Jacques waved a hand. "Why would she have any reason to come out?"

"What about grandfather and grandmother?" Audrey asked, speaking for the first time in a few minutes.

Jacques said nothing, but pointed to a corner of the hall that was rather dark.

_**The corner, in which my grandmother had died, was the same in which she stood. We could barely see her in the moonlight. She wore a straight face; she held up a hand and gave a small wave.**_

_**She wasn't the same…it hurt.**_

Audrey bit her lip and blinked back some tears as she waved back with the others.

Jacques then pointed upward.

A pair of white eyes stared at them in the dark.

"Jacques, why are you the only one who speaks?" Sven asked, looking around the empty hall.

"They've chosen me to speak to you." He replied, pacing for a moment. "I was the one chosen to find Audrey last year to tell her."

"But you didn't find me." Audrey said softly. "You found my daughter."

"She's of this blood…she must know too." Jacques said, his voice was tense.

"She's just a child." Audrey argued.

"Audrey, one day she will need to know this. Just as much as you. You need to find it…it's always been here. It's been waiting for you." Jacques urged.

"You can't tell us where it is?" Afanasi asked, noticing some noise outside. Someone had broken curfew. "What if they find out we're here?"

"We have guarded St. Aleksander's for six years, waiting for Audrina…no one has gotten in. And if someone does get in…we will be ready for them. We can give them quite a fright." Jacques was confident.

"But…sorry if this is rude, Jacques, can you still…you know…" Sven felt very awkward.

"Do we still have our powers?" Jacques replied in a flat tone.

The four nodded.

Jacques sighed and snapped his fingers. There was a gust of wind, and then a book came flying through the hall. It hit Sven in the gut.

"I think that's a yes." Karl said.

"What are you standing around for?" Jacques snapped, now hearing people outside in the city. "Split off and start looking! It won't be an easy find."

The four nodded, Sven and Afanasi took the left wing of the palace, Karl and Audrey took the right. They had four floors to get through, and Audrey couldn't even think of where to begin.

_**We started in the hallway from which we came, looking under every table, looking in every corner for something.**_

_**The worst part is…I didn't even know what to look for! Was the secret written down? Was it in a crystal ball? Was it written behind a painting?**_

There were so many possibilities, and judging by the noises outside, we had a limited amount of time.

They wandered up the hallway, turning over tables, opening drawers, feeling the walls for secret panels.

"So, what have you been up to these last few years?" Karl asked, looking at Audrey. He was genuinely curious, and trying to make conversation so that the deafening silence of her grandparents' home wouldn't get to her.

She hadn't stepped foot in the palace since the night she had witnessed her family murdered before her very eyes. Karl could easily sense her mixed emotions.

"I made my debut during November of my fifth year, and I've seen good clientele since. Though the times are tough now, many of my clients have been reported missing, or dead...I only have one left, and I'm hardly allowed out of my home anymore."

Audrey frowned, it annoyed her greatly to be confined to her home. She loved her daughter more than anything in the world, but she had longed for a stage and the feeling she got when she performed. On top of that, she was incredibly envious that Sirius was allowed to leave, even if it was mostly for Order business.

Karl frowned with her, he remembered how badly she wanted it. "It must have crushed you…"

Audrey nodded. "Yeah, it's been difficult, but I'm not alone…"

"I saw you…" Audrey said, after a few moments of silence. She looked at the floor and smiled coyly, tears pooled in her eyes. "Twice."

Karl stopped infront of her, cocking his head slightly. "You saw me, and you did not say hi?"

Audrey blinked back some tears. "_Karl_, you would not recognize me at all if you saw me. It would have put _both_ of us in danger."

"You were there the night that the gala was attacked, weren't you? You threw those rocks at my attackers…" Karl said, piecing it together.

Audrey nodded, her voice breaking slightly. "I couldn't stand by and let him hurt you, even though I should not have intervened."

Oh, how badly Karl just wanted to kiss her right now, but his eyes wandered to her left hand. He knew it was going to happen, he could tell by the way he looked at her so many years ago. As long as she was happy, he'd be happy, but she clearly wasn't as she stood before him. She seemed very broken…

Karl bumped her hip and pointed to her left hand, changing the subject.. "I see you've gotten married."

Audrey had to laugh at Karl's antics, he hadn't changed much. Under the sober exterior the war had given him he was still the same charming boy she knew.

"_Da_…I finally caved to Sirius my fifth year of school…we dated for two years, and he proposed to me on Valentines day of our seventh year. He's always been rather…" Audrey began.

"Persistent? Cheesy?" Karl supplied, a smirk forming on his features.

"Yes." Audrey replied.

"Sven called it, I'm quite impressed." He grinned.

"What?"

"He said, after we broke up, that he bet that if we didn't get back together Sirius would pounce on you." Karl said, trying not to sound in lament. He truly loved her, but he knew that when you loved someone that much, you had to let them go. All that mattered to him was that she was safe and happy.

Audrey gave a tiny laugh. "Yeah, Sven knows me all too well. He claimed that Sirius looked at me like _'more than a piece of meat.'_"

"_Oh how right he was." _Karl thought to himself. But decided not to say it, he motioned for Audrey to continue.

"Then I got pregnant-"

"How'd your parents feel about that one?" Karl laughed, remembering Isaac and Airleas fondly.

"They didn't take it as badly as I had expected." Audrey paled, she tried not to think about them. It was just easier that way, it was easier to think that she had no parents all along rather than deal with the truth. "I mean, my mother was about my age when she was pregnant with me, and they were married about the same age as well. They were quite ecstatic about being grandparents."

"I heard you mention your daughter earlier…what's her name?"

"Her name is Anastasia." She gave him a watery smile, her eyes wandered to a dark corner of the hallway. Karl looked over to see the elder Anastasia standing in the corner, watching them intently. She gave a tiny nod of acknowledgement and kept walking.

Audrey eyes were filling with tears. He reciprocated, he understood her pain. Her grandmother was so close to her at that moment, but so distant.

"I know." Karl gave her a squeeze. "I miss them too…but I'm sure she's honored that you named her after her. I'm sure she would have adored her. Tell me about her?" Karl wanted to sway the subject as they continued searching the hallway.

"She's just three years old, born in November. She's playing already, I can't get over it. She's got my grandmother's nose, and an odd combination of Sirius' and my hair." Audrey gave a weak laugh.

"Where is she now? With Sirius or your parents?"

Audrey's demeanor changed entirely which startled him, her eyes were blue, her lip was quivering, tears were beginning to fall.

"Audrey?" Karl stopped, taking hold of her shoulders. "What's wrong, what is it?"

She shook her head, taking a few deep breaths to make sure she kept her emotions in check. "M-m-my parents are dead, Karl…"

He didn't say anything, but pulled her into his chest. She sobbed. "A _week_! A week after I told them I was expecting, Albus pulls me out of class…and he told me _he_ killed them, _he_ just came into our home, and _he _killed them. Because my father refused to join him…"

Karl pressed his lips to her temple, she was shaking, not because of her powers, just from sadness and exhaustion.

"THEY DIDN'T EVEN GET TO MEET HER…" Audrey wailed, muffled into his chest. She kept her hand over her mouth, though St. Aleksander's was safe, they still had to be careful.

"I know…" said Karl, rubbing her back. "Is that why you came back as well?"

Audrey nodded and looked up at him. "Everything's gotten so scary in England, Karl…and when I came here, I had a brief hope that everything would be the same here, but it's not. It's just as frightening as it is back home, barren…"

Karl nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Disappearances and deaths every day-"

From the outside, in the square, there were yells and screams. Karl and Audrey ran to the closest window, looking down below.

_**In the square, there were black figures laying in the snow…motionless.**_

"We really need to start looking _now_, Audrey." Karl said quickly. "I'm sure they don't know we're in here but we can't be too sure…and they can only buy us so much time." He looked towards Anastasia Ivanoff, who stood in the moonlight, watching them.

Audrey nodded, taking a breath.

"Where were you last time? Where did you think it was?"

"My grandfather's study…" Her eyes widened, remembering. She began to sprint down the hallway, Karl followed.


	99. Chapter 99

**Thanks for the review, thewrittenword87! :)**

**Review please?  
><strong>

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!

CHAPTER 99

Audrey and Karl went through dozens of books, but with no luck.

"Karl, we can't keep doing this…there are two many books." Audrey said. "There isn't enough time!"

"Audrey, think back…did your grandfather ever say he had a favorite book?"

She searched her head, trying to remember anything of Edik. Since Christmas night six years earlier she had tried to forget him…it was far easier to forget she had a family then it was to face the fact that they had been killed right in front of her.

"Every time I saw him in here, he always had this large red book…I don't know what it was called. It had gold text." She said, using her glowing fingers and searching the bookshelves.

"There are a lot of red books here…" Karl said, slightly sarcastic.

"At least I narrowed it down slightly…it's not on any of the tables…" Audrey said, looking around.

"I think Edik must have known…" Karl said quietly, knowing it was a sensitive topic. "He may have anticipated it."

Tears filled her eyes as she looked at him, she nodded. She knew that there was a possibility that her grandparents knew an attack could be soon. Only mere months before it all, she had heard her grandparents arguing about this _thing_…whatever it was.

_She was surprised to see her grandparents sitting together in the study, reading. It wasn't as though the two were ever on bad terms with each other, but they usually liked to go off and do their own things within the house. At least from what Audrey knew._

_They were reading and whispering in low, barely audible, urgent voices. Audrey could only hear half of what they were saying._

_"__Edik, she has to know! Isaac hasn't told her yet…"_

_"__I know! I know!" __Edik snapped. __"Anastasia, the time…she's not ready to know this yet…it's too much to bear for her…she is still so young."_

_"__Edik, if we don't tell her soon, she may never know! And we don't know if anyone else knows outside of the circle…"_

_"__We have nothing to fear, Anastasia. I promise you." __Edik said._As they continued their search, Ivan had slipped into the study. He stood infront of the door, watching them.

There were yells and screams coming from outside. Jacques walked through a wall.

"You must hurry." Jacques urged. "I don't know if people are coming, but I don't want you to risk it…if they find you in this city they will execute you."

_**The noise outside was growing, I looked out the window to see that the square was on fire.**_

"Karl…" Audrey said, pointing at the window. He glanced.

Outside of the study, they could hear footsteps from the hallway.

Afanasi and Sven slid into the study.

"Have you found anything?" Sven asked, out of breath.

"Audrey think it might be in a red book." Karl said.

"We found something you should see." Afanasi said. "Come on."

They ran down the hallway to the left side of the palace, passing bedrooms as they went. Afanasi turned into the room that belonged to her grandparents.

Audrey hadn't been in that room since she was a small girl. It looked the same as she had remembered it, minus all of the dust_**. **_

_**There was one section in the middle of the floor where the dust had been cleared by Sven and Afanasi. **_

In the dark, it was hard to see what was there. Karl and Sven lit their wands to reveal faint writing.

Снегурочка

_**Snowmaiden.**_

_**I had forgotten about that tale, it was a something my grandfather read to me often when I was a little girl.**_

"Isn't that a children's tale?" Karl asked.

"Da." replied Afanasi.

"My grandfather used to read it to me all the time." Audrey said in thought.

"Tell it to me." Sven commanded. "Perhaps there's a clue within the tale."

"From what I remember, Snowmaiden was the daughter of the Winter and of the Spring…Father Frost and Fairy Spring…but thye had to hide their daughter from the Sun God, because he was so powerful. His rays could destroy her. So her parents took her to live deep in the woods, but she felt so lonely. One day, she decided to walk through the woods. She followed a lovely sound, and came to the edge of the woods where there was an open field. In that field, sat a farm boy playing his flute. Snowmaiden stayed at the edge of the forest, watching him and listening to his song. She was terribly upset that he didn't pay her any mind…he always danced with the other girls in the field. Snowmaiden was brokenhearted, and asked her mother to help her feel love. Her mother told her she would have to go out into the field where the boy plays. So the next day, Snowmaiden went out into the field. The boy saw her, and was captivated by her beauty. But Snowmaiden had stepped into a ray of sunshine, and she melted before the boys eyes." Audrey finished.

"That's pretty ironic." Afanasi snorted.

"What?" Audrey asked, confused.

"You don't see any similarities there?" Karl gave her a look.

_**I honestly hadn't thought of the tale since I was a little girl, but my memories began to fall into place. My parents…our cottage in the woods, my father always warning me about humans, and the war…**_

"But that doesn't give us a clue at all…it's pretty much Audrey's life…unless someone saw it." Karl said. "Maybe it's a prediction?"

"It can't be a prediction, that tale has been around for hundreds of years." Afanasi shook his head.

"If the secret isn't in the tale, it must be in the book…" Audrey realized, she then bolted from the room, Afanasi on her heels, Karl and Sven sprinted to catch up.

By the time the men caught up with the creatures, they were already tearing through the study, looking through the shelves.

"It has to be a red book, Af." Audrey called from one side of the study, she was hovering so she could reach the top shelf.

"Nothing yet?" Karl asked, joining them.

"I've found it!" Audrey called, jumping down. "It was hidden in the back of the shelf."

There was a tiny fringe sticking out from the book, Audrey pulled out a piece of stiff, dry, yellowed parchment. It was ripped, the other half, nowhere in sight. The writing was in old Russian, but very clear. It was a letter addressed to Audrey's grandfather. 

* * *

><p>So...I won't be publishing 100 until I get some more reviews. ;) Trolololo.<p>

Credit for Snowmaiden to


	100. Chapter 100

Darn the FF editor and it's cutting things off. Credit for Snowmaiden to the Russian Crafts website. (For some reason the editor doesn't like me using the url.)

Thanks for the reviews, thewrittenword87, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, HandsomHolly, CharlotteBlackwood, and Written Angel.

I'm hoping 101 will be out right after this, but I've been having some issues with publishing on this site, lots of errors and slow loading pages.

**Review pleeeeeease?**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 100

_October 31__st__, 1901._

_Edik,_

_My son, it is time that I pass on this information to you, as my father has passed it to me, and your grandfather has passed to him. Our family has been hiding for centuries, only to protect this secret and ourselves. As you know, we came from a large tribe. The tribe rivaled the size of banshee and vampire colonies alike. __During the year 1260, the entire clan was destroyed by a fire so terrible, it cast by a dark wizard. Only two survived…both males, both were from the east, but they spoke in different tongues. They were separated by the destruction, and fell out of contact. As you have guessed, one of these men was our ancestor. A very distant grandfather, as for the other man…I've spent years searching, as well as your grandfather. We have yet to find his descendant, or descendants…there is only the possibility that they may be in China, the surname is Lei. There was a vision, that was seen by our ancestor who survived the fire. He saw that dark times would be coming in the future, dark times that involved our kind. He saw the slaughter of our family, though it has been unclear of which generation. One must never be too careful… He saw a wizard seeking to tame one of us, the very last one of our bloodline. A girl with full powers, who's parents died to protect her. They-_


	101. Chapter 101

Trolololo, you won't see the next half of that letter until…well, I'm not telling you. But I promise it will be seen.

Thanks for the reviews, thewrittenword87, flamesflyer, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx.

We're close to the end! AHHH!

Review pleeeeeease?

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 101

Audrey's eyes widened…

Karl seemed to understand. "Audrey it's _you_. It makes sense! You are the only girl born from the Dalio's to have full powers. Your aunts didn't have full powers."

_**I felt as though the room was spinning…o**__**ne thing I had remembered my grandparents and my father always used to tell me I was the first girl with full powers. When I was a child my father wouldn't let me outside, he was always strict…**_

"_**Never show what you are…never." He always said.**_

_**And I was not alone.  
><strong>We** were not alone.  
><strong>_

_**My daughter and I were not the last of our kind, there was another…somewhere in this world there was another being like us.**_

_**Where were they?**_

_Clang_.

"Audrina." Jacques appeared out of thin air. "You need to leave…someone is suspicious…someone is moving outside of the palace."

"Jacques, do you know where the other half of this parchment is?" Sven asked.

"No." He replied, rolling his eyes. He really was worried that they were going to get caught.

"Do you know what the rest of it says?" Audrey asked urgently.

"Yes." He replied.

"Will you tell us?"

"I took that secret to the grave." Jacques replied. "You need to leave."

_Clang_.

"_Now_." He finished.

They took the ripped parchment, and Afanasi dissapparated to his flat with the three.

Karl laid it on the table.

"It makes perfect sense." said Sven. "They attacked your entire family, they all tried to protect you…"

Audrey shook for a moment.

_**This realization sent me back, searching through my memories, reanalyzing everything that had ever happened in my life. Why my parents were so adamant about me not being seen, why my father had taken extra care to not be seen in public with me. Why my grandfather wanted to wait until the very possible end for me to know, it wasn't a weight to be thrusted on my shoulders so early.**_

_**The thought that my family had died for this made my heart heavy. It was not worth it, **__I __**was not worth it.**_

Audrey had wandered through Afanasi's flat to the balcony that faced the city. Sven had mentioned that there were a few protective enchantments around the balcony so that no one would be seen.

"What time is it?" Audrey asked him.

"Almost 3:30, why?" He asked.

"I need to head back to England soon." Audrey replied, looking out at the snowy square. "I don't want Sirius to wake and think I've been kidnapped."

_**It was the truth, after all...I wasn't allowed to leave my home without the presence of a guard.**_

"Audrey…are you sure?" Karl asked, approaching her.

"Am I sure of what?" She replied, looking at him. Her eyes flickered between blue and white, she mentally cursed herself for her lack of control.

"That you want to return?" Karl asked quietly. "I mean…"

Karl didn't know how to finish his thought, he wanted to say _'You don't seem very happy there.'_ But he did not want to insinuate that her marriage was deteriorating. Karl saw something in her eyes while they wandered the halls of St. Aleksander's. He knew that Sirius was no longer making her happy.

"Karl, I _have_ to return." Audrey replied, her voice breaking slightly as she choked back some tears. "My _daughter_…I need to take care of her."

"You could bring her here, Audrey." He replied, wiping a stray tear. "We would protect her…"

She gave a small laugh.

_**Perhaps there was a parallel universe where my family were still alive and I stayed with Karl Gregorovitch. Spending those few hours with Karl had made my heart tear into pieces. All of these thoughts flooded my head…thoughts of Karl's kindness, Sirius' drunken demeanor…our arguments…had I made the right choice six years ago?**_

"As much as I would love that." Audrey replied, wiping her own tears. "I can't, Karl. I took v-"

His lips crashed onto hers. She didn't fight it, she kissed him right back.

_**Oh, you could **__not__** imagine the **__guilt__** I felt.**_

Audrey finally pulled away, breathing heavily.

"Karl…I…" She didn't know what to say.

Karl didn't have a smug look on his face, which was what Audrey was expecting. That was how long she had been with Sirius, she was used to his mannerisms and his cocky behavior. If this had been the other way around, and Audrey had kissed Sirius while dating Karl, Sirius would have had a smug look on his face.

"….I…I need to go…" Audrey stammered, backing away from him. "Give Sven and Af my love…I really…it's late…I…"

She disapparated.


	102. Chapter 102

I start work next week, so I'm going to see how much I can publish in the next few days…hopefully enough. After my first week of work, I should have quite a bit of time to write, publish, and finish.

Thanks for the reviews, HandsomHolly, thewrittenword87, Written Angel, LizziePixie-Aiko, and CharlotteBlackwood!

Review pleeeeeease? We're almost done!

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 102

Audrey hit the floor of the bedroom as lightly as she could, and that was saying something, seeing as she was terrible at sticking apparition landings.

She lit her fingers to find that Sirius was not in their bed, perhaps he was still sleeping on the couch with their daughter. Audrey could only hope…she contemplated lying if he had asked where she had been. But she knew it would be wrong, their relationship was already unstable with the last few months of fighting, death, and war…why add on to it?

Though she knew one thing she would have to lie about.

She didn't want to admit it had happened, it was only moments ago.

Audrey tiptoed down the hallway, she checked Anastasia's room to find the young girl sound asleep.

Audrey sighed and moved into the sitting room. Sirius was still on the sofa, she could see the back of his head.

She walked around the chaise, Sirius was wide awake. He didn't say anything, he just stared at her until she sat down.

"Where did you go?" He asked quietly.

Audrey blinked back some tears, it wasn't that she was ashamed. Just saying the name brought tears to her eyes.

"St. Aleksander's."

As she expected, Sirius' face had changed from calmness to shock.

He had thought she went to Remus', or maybe to see Edgar, but…_Russia_?

"I thought you had went somewhere…more…local…" He replied.

Audrey shook her head.

"Love, why on earth would you go back _there_?" He asked, trying not to raise his voice. He didn't want to wake their daughter.

"Sirius." Audrey swallowed a lump in her throat. "I had to."

"No." Sirius shook his head.

"Yes, I did." Audrey's voice shook. "I had to go back there, Sirius. All of those dreams I had been having, all of those dreams of 1031…it was the address of a flat I used to go to in St. Petersburg."

_**The difficult thing about this whole situation was my uneasiness to tell Sirius exactly why I went to Russia. I wasn't quite sure if he had remembered the secret I had been so desperate to figure out for the last six years.**_

"Audrey, leaving our home is dangerous enough!" Sirius exclaimed. "Did you really have to take it a step further by thrill seeking in Russia?"

"Thrill seeking?" Audrey was taken aback. "You think that I just dissapparated to Russia for _thrills_?"

"I don't see why else you would want to go back there." Sirius gave her a look. "Audrey, there is nothing there for you anymore."

"Nothing?" Audrey gave him a skeptical look.

_**It was exactly this type of behavior that had been pressing on our marriage. You see, Sirius' drunken rambles and insults weren't the only instances that lead to arguments. While he was sober, he was this over-protective moron who thought that he was superior because he was a man.**_

"Nothing." Sirius replied curtly.

It was late, and Audrey had already had it with her husband's rudeness. It was that time of night where she lost her filter, and the words just came through without a thought.

"For your information, Sirius. I still have people who I care about in St. Petersburg." Audrey hissed. "And they care about me. They protected me tonight, they wanted me to stay."

_**By "they" of course, I meant Karl.**_

"Had I not been married and had a family to look after, I might've accepted that offer."

_**In retrospect, I would have accepted that offer marriage or not. Things have gotten really bad here…**_

"Well, aren't we so lucky then." Sirius bit back, sarcastically. "What use are your powers when you can't even use them?"

Audrey was boiling with rage, but she controlled herself. She wasn't going to stoop to his level.

"Well, _dear_, you know I can't use my powers without compromising our safety. There's a curse that will reveal me if anything is detected…you of all people should know that."

"That's exactly my point, Audrey." Sirius spat back. "That taboo could have easily extended internationally, and if you were seen in St. Petersburg you would be _dead_."

"Well, I _wasn't_ seen and there _wasn't_ a taboo there." Audrey replied quickly. "Most of the country is under the impression that I'm dead…it was easy walking around St. Petersburg."

_**That last sentence wasn't entirely true…it was **__rumored__** that I was dead, but I still had to be very careful.**_

"So you were walking around St. Petersburg? You know, with the current security situation there that I can easily classify **that** as thrill seeking." Sirius replied smartly.

_**The Russian Ministry of Magic had been making international headlines for their corruption, the revolt, and their failing economy. The six years since my family was murdered had really taken its toll on the country.**_

"For the last time, I was not thrill seeking, Sirius. I am _not_ ignorant of the threats around me." Audrey replied through gritted teeth.

"The what else could you have possibly done in that _grotty_ place?" He snarled.

"Grotty?" Audrey replied, raising her voice. "_Grotty_?! St. Petersburg is far more pristine than this barren wasteland full of obnoxious prejudiced pigs."

_**I didn't mean that…I really didn't. England was my home, and despite the fact that I had always felt more comfortable in Russia, I shouldn't have said that.**_

"Obnoxious prejudiced pigs who are fighting to keep you safe." Sirius shot back.

"That was hardly a retort, Sirius. I'm not ungrateful for the Order's help…but I wouldn't need their help in the first place if there weren't so many god damned bigots walking around."

"That's the thing about you, Audrey." Sirius hissed back. "You assume that just because you're a creature we're all out to get you."

"It's not only that, you buffoon!" She charged back. "People hear me speak and they know I'm not from around here. With all the news about Russia in the prophet they assume I'm some sort of spy!"

Audrey had had enough; she made her way down the hallway to the spare room and slammed the door.

Sirius sat there stunned, he knew he couldn't argue with that. Even during Order meetings he could see that Audrey was not trusted by some of its members.

**There were always these accusations against her; they spoke behind her back... Peter especially seemed to be under the impression that Audrey was a Russian spy.**

**It seemed that many had forgotten about St. Aleksander's, or worse, people assumed that she was the cause of it. **

**There were terrible rumors following the massacre. One was this crazy story that Audrey was in love with Vladimir Morozov and her family didn't like it, so she had them killed. These rumors began to re-circulate with all of the news about Russia, which is why I was so adamant at the time about her not returning. Though at the time, I didn't know _why_ she had went back. She didn't tell me.**

**I don't blame her, I didn't deserve her trust at the time.**

Once Audrey was secure inside the guest room, she cast a few charms and made her way over to the small fireplace. She took a pinch of floo and threw it into the fireplace.

"Marlene?" She called.

"Hey, Aud." She said, her head appearing in the fireplace.

"I'm surprised you're still awake." Audrey smirked.

"Of course." Marlene replied. "I'm in just as much suspense as you were, did you find anything?"

_**I had told Marlene for the last few months of my intentions to return to Russia, I knew she would be the only one to really understand why…She was the only one I felt I could trust entirely. Though St. Petersburg was a spontaneous trip…it had to be afterall. I couldn't risk a letter being intercepted.**_

_Audrey and Marlene sat at the table, watching their friends in the sitting area. Remus and Lily were chatting away about a book Lily had finished, baby Harry sat on her knee. Sirius and James were engaged in a difficult game of wizard's chess. Anastasia was falling asleep on the sofa._

"_I think I am going tonight." Audrey said in a hushed voice, giving her friend a look._

"_Tonight?!" She asked. "Won't he notice?" She nodded her head in Sirius' direction._

"_I have a feeling he'll fall asleep early…he's been working a lot this week." She replied, stirring her tea with a flick of her finger._

"It took some digging, but we've found it." Audrey replied, her eyes glowing in the fire light.

"We?" Marlene asked.

It was then that Audrey spun into her tale, meeting Afanasi, running through the city with him, Karl and Sven…and of course, all things in-between. Audrey knew her best friend could keep many secrets, and so Marlene McKinnon was the only one she could confide in.


	103. Chapter 103

Thanks for the reviews, thewrittenword87, LizziePixie-Aiko, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, Written Angel, CharlotteBlackwood, and HandsomHolly! You guys are the best.

Review pleeeeeease? We're almost done!

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 103

_**July 17**__**th**__**, 1981.**_

_**I remember the day well; it was warm…as any other mid-summer day. Anastasia wanted to play outside, Sirius took her to the park. She couldn't be seen with me, no one could…**_

_**I couldn't be seen at all.**_

_**I thought that my life couldn't get worse after being confined to my home and losing my clientele. **_

_**But it did.**_

_**Rumors…they are such vicious things. Now that the Ministry had been infiltrated, propaganda and paranoia increased. The newspapers began reporting about how muggle born witches and wizards stole magic, creatures too! But the worst was a headline I had seen a few months prior with my photograph.**_

"_**RUSSIAN SPY WANTED." It read. "100,000 galleon reward."**_

_**The article proceeded to talk about how I was responsible for the deaths of the great Ivanoff family in Russia, and how I had taken down the Russian government. I was "a threat to everything they hold dear."**_

_**They said that I was going to take down the English Ministry…**_

_**The article listed me as Audrey Dalio, not Audrey Black. I was quite lucky…I had feared that Sirius' safety would be compromised. Hell, who am I kidding? Our safety had been compromised all along. Instead of targets on our backs, we now had them on our heads…mine even had a price now! How grand!**_

_**These headlines had thrown the Order into another debate, the famous "How are we going to run Audrey's life now?" debate. Albus strongly advised splitting up the family, and now there was fine print news as his evidence. The only reason I had to argue back was Anastasia. I couldn't leave her with Sirius.**_

_**I just couldn't.**_

Just after seeing her husband and daughter off, Audrey decided to practice. Playing her cello had been the only thing keeping her sane for the last few months. It was an escape.

"Hey." Sirius said, coming into the room. "Dumbledore's calling for us to go to the Hogshead."

"Why?" Audrey asked, giving her husband a confused look. His expression mirrored hers.

"He didn't say…I'm not sure what's going on. He just said come immediately and to leave Asia with Edgar."

Audrey put her cello down and walked towards her husband, she grabbed his hands.

_**Poor Sirius looked so tired…he had been taking on more and more night watches.**_

"You okay?" He asked quietly, pressing his forehead to hers.

"I don't know." Audrey said in a barely audible whisper. "Something feels wrong…but I don't know if that's truth or if it's anxiety."

_**This war was wearing us down, we could see it in each others faces.**_

"I'm hoping that it's just anxiety rather than truth." He replied softly, she nodded in agreement.

_Crack._

The couple jumped, right into battle positions. Even though there were only three other people who could apparate into their home, they were still on edge.

"Calm down! It's just me." said Edgar, holding his hands up.

"What's the first thing you said to me after my daughter was born?"Audrey said, her hair was standing up.

"Hisoka and I will protect her as long we are breathing." Edgar said quietly.

Audrey relaxed and hugged her mentor.

"Ed, what's going on?" Sirius asked, waving Dumbledore's letter.

"I…" Edgar began, looking between the couple. "I can't say."

"Why can't you say?" Audrey asked, frantic.

"Just go." Edgar's voice shook. He shooed them away.

Sirius and Audrey exchanged a look and disapparated.

The Hogshead was quiet, not a single patron in the bar. Aberforth lead them to the back door they had frequented so many times in the last few months. It was one of a few Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.

The main room was silent, the table was empty. Audrey looked around, perplexed. Sirius was about to ask Aberforth a question when he just pointed to a portrait on the wall. The frame opened, revealing a small hallway to another room. Muffled cries were heard…the couple tensed and slowly walked through the door.

Audrey tripped backwards when she saw them lying there, her eyes traveled to the corner of the room, to the very last cot where her friends gathered.

_**The McKinnons.**_

Audrey was too overwhelmed to speak, she let out a cry. Remus looked up from Marlene and hurtled towards Audrey and Sirius, nearly knocking them backwards.

**There were no words among us…we knew that this war could tear us apart, but I think we all had tried to convince ourselves that it wouldn't happen. I know I did…I wanted to believe that my friends and I would come out of this horrible nightmare alive. Our children would grow up safe, they would play together, and go to school together. We would all grow old together…but that was just a dream now.**

Audrey made her way to her best friend…Marlene couldn't be dead, she was the toughest witch Audrey knew.

_**It was then that I remembered how fragile human beings are…she was a rose, she had her thorns, but she was so vulnerable.**_

She hugged Marlene to her chest and sobbed, she felt Remus join her.

_**I felt so sick… **_

_**You would think, that after witnessing this so many times in the last few years that I could handle it but I just couldn't… They were expecting child, Marlene was due this month. They were supposed to live a good long life. My heart tore for Remus, he did not deserve this. **_

They stayed in the room for ages it seemed, James and Lily left after a while. Remus paced around the room, while Audrey sat with Marlene. She went through stages, she'd cry, calm down, and then cry again. There were small tremors running through the floor, they were perfectly in sync with her cries.

"I think it is time to say good bye for the night." said Albus.

Sirius had no idea when he had arrived, he hadn't been paying attention to much. Audrey's tremors became more pronounced, Albus made his way over to where she knelt, he patted her back. The floor was still shaking everytime she sobbed.

Something peculiar had happened in the next few seconds, Sirius watched as Dumbledore's hand traveled up his wife's back. It swept through her long, thick hair and landed on her neck.

Remus seemed to notice as well, he glanced at Sirius.

**Remus caught on a lot quicker than I did…**

Audrey straightened up, she became very tense and rigid. She tried to stand up, but she swayed while she looked at Albus in shock. Her arm reached out to him, but she fell, the old man caught her with ease.

"NO!" Remus shouted angrily, charging towards the old man. Albus blasted him back into the wall.

Before Albus could speak, Remus cut him off.

"SHE'S _NOT_ A MONSTER, FOR FUCKS SAKE! THAT WAS UNNECESSARY AND CRUEL!"

"It had to be done, Mr. Lupin." Albus said in an uncharacteristically stern voice. "If she cannot control her grief, then_ I_ will control it for her. Those tremors are not only a threat to her exposure, but ours as well."

**It was at that moment that I finally understood the man Albus Dumbledore was. I thought the war had changed him, but it had just brought out a part of his past that he seemed so eager to hide. A side that his brother, Aberforth, sarcastically hinted at from time to time.**

"She shouldn't _have to_ control her grief." Remus spat angrily, he looked at Sirius for back up.

**I was in such a shock from the day that I hadn't processed what had just happened.**

Albus gently laid Audrey on the floor.

"What did you do to her?" Sirius' voice shook, as he knelt next to his unconcious wife.

"He _tranquilized_ her. As if she were an animal." Remus spat.

**I knew what he had done. But it just didn't click, Albus had always seemed to care so deeply for her. He was so protective when we were in school, but I now understood what Audrey had meant during the days that followed the massacre at St. Aleksander's…**

_"How long have you been asleep?" Marlene asked._

_"Er, about two and a half days." Audrey shrugged again, taking a seat next to her best friend. "It wasn't my choice."_

_"What do you mean?" asked Sirius. Hisoka had made it seem that Audrey had slept of her own accord._

_"I was injected with a form of tranquilizer." Audrey said quietly. "I got a bit vicious…I was feeling quite…__vengeful__."_

_"Are they allowed to do that?" Lily whispered, incredulous._

_"They aren't to a __**human**__ student, but when it's someone like me, I pose a danger." Audrey replied, a little annoyed. "It's the same thing that they use in St. Mungo's when they do operations on magical creatures."_

_Sirius noticed Remus shiver for a second; a memory must have stirred him. He could see Remus knew __**exactly**__ what Audrey was referring to._

_"They could have let me go home with my parents, but because __**everyone**__ thinks they have more of a right to run my life than I do, I've been confined here." Audrey's eyes went red for a moment._

_"But…well…Karl and I, we saw Hisoka yesterday. And she led us in here, but she wasn't supposed to, she said we couldn't say a word because you were in a light sleep."_

_Audrey gave a cynical laugh. "She's an excellent liar isn't she? Rather charming at times. That tranquillizer is strong enough to put a giant to sleep, and kill a human on injection. My sleep was temperamental, but I can assure you my body was deadweight, I was incredibly drowsy."_

**If he weren't our only hope for this war, I would have strangled him.**

"I will see you both at the meeting tomorrow." Albus said, before dissapparating.

Remus, looking appalled, turned to Aberforth.

"Has your brother always been-"

"An insensitive arse who never thinks or considers anyone around him? Yes." Aberforth answered, as the three men looked from Audrey to the McKinnons.

Aberforth turned to Sirius.

"He's going to try to split up yer' family again, best be prepared for an argument when that arises tomorrow."

Sirius nodded, picking up Audrey.

"I'll be back, mate." He choked, looking at his heart broken friend. "I'm going to go and bring her home."


	104. Chapter 104

I AM **SO **SORRY!

It's been a while; I've been in Boston the last six weeks working. I'm back home now, and finally have time to FINISH. Whoo. I'm currently working on 105.

Thanks for the reviews, CharlotteBlackwood, HandsomHolly, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, LizziePixie-Aiko, and thewrittenword87 (hey, you're my 400th review, whooo)!

Review pleeeeeease? We're almost done!

Again, I'm so sorry this took so long. :X

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 104

Sirius Black arrived back at their home to find Edgar and Hisoka sitting on the couch with Anastasia.

"What's happened to her?" Edgar exclaimed rushing off of the sofa.

"Albus tranquilized her." Sirius spat, annoyed.

"I think it's best that we go and play in your room, Anastasia." Hisoka said to the small child, picking her up and swiftly moving around the other two.

Edgar sighed. It was conflicting for him and Hisoka. Albus Dumbledore was their longtime friend, but the things that he had done to Audrey's family…what he put them through, was very questionable.

"Why did she just act like this was nothing?" Sirius asked, annoyed.

"Hisoka has always been excellent at keeping her opinions and emotions out of public eye. Surely you'd know that by now." Edgar replied. "Plus, your daughter is in our presence."

Sirius had momentarily forgotten about his little girl. He felt terrible, but with the strain of losing Marlene, and Remus and Audrey's emotional distraught – everything had taken to the backburner.

"What exactly happened?" Edgar asked, in a quieter voice so the child wouldn't hear. "How did this come about?" He took the small dart from Audrey's neck.

"She couldn't control her tremors." Sirius sighed, gently placing her on the sofa. "Albus said that she would have exposed us all…I mean, it was a valid point, but it was bloody cruel."

"Of course it was." Edgar replied. "He just treated her like an animal, very contradictory of his stance on creatures rights. It is unfortunate that he resorted to such a barbaric manner, but it is better that she is tranquilized at the moment. Those headlines…"

"I know…" Sirius said. "They keep probing at it. Every day the paper talks about it. It's like You-Know-Who is placing the articles to catch her."

Edgar's expression changed from confusion to realization.

"Sirius, that's _exactly_ what he's doing." He exclaimed. "Audrey's been avoiding him for three years…he must be getting desperate."

**I don't know if Audrey had figured it out at the time, or if she just thought it was general paranoia. She wasn't the **_**only**_** Russian born immigrant coming under fire at the time, there were others…she just had the highest bounty reward. They labeled her as the ringleader to this imaginary government heist.**

"Yeah…" Sirius sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I'm going back to the Hogshead, I promised Remus. Do you mind staying here?"

"Go." Edgar waved him off.

**I couldn't wrap my head around everything that happened, Marlene couldn't be dead. That just wasn't possible…and seeing how heart broken my best friends were, especially Remus, would have been enough to kill me.**

Sirius returned to the Hogshead, finding only Remus. He was hunched over Marlene's bed, his head rested in his hands.

**Remus didn't say anything, if the roles were reversed, I wouldn't have either.**

And I didn't for 12 years.

There were some small thuds coming from the other room, others were arriving.

James came in, wiping his eyes. He exchanged a look of acknowledgement with Sirius.

"Where's Audrey?" His voice cracked.

"Home." Sirius replied quietly. Before Sirius could speak, Remus lifted his head.

"That old crackpot tranquilized her." He snarled. It was a rare side of Remus that they were seeing.

"He had to cover her…he had to control her because she is **wrong**. The great Albus Dumbledore, defender of creatures, defender of muggle borns! HE'S A HYPOCRITE."

"Remus, mate…calm down." James rushed over to him.

"He claims to be so _mighty_, he claims he wants to help us…" Remus was breathing heavily, he had difficulty controlling himself.

"What happened?" James asked, looking between the two.

"Dumbledore tranquilized Audrey, because she couldn't control her tremors." Sirius sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"What?" James asked. "_What_? Again?"

"Again." Remus replied, kicking the wall in anger.

"Mate, you should head home. I'll help Remus, go take care of your wife." James said, rubbing Remus' back.

"She'll be okay." Sirius replied. "She's under Edgar and Hisoka's care…I reckon that tranquilizer was the same one he used last time."

**I had really hoped it wasn't. I certainly could not deal without Audrey for two weeks. Times were tough. Sure, we fought a lot but I was mad for her. How would I explain to our three year old that her mother had been tranquilized because humanity saw her as an animal?  
><strong>

In Oxshott, Audrey lay in their bed. The world was spinning, her vision was blurred. She felt so tired and dizzy, what had happened? It was something terrible, but she could not remember…

"Audrina." said a firm, familiar voice.

She opened her eyes to see her father, multiplied around her. Why was the room shaking?

"Papa, Papa…_what has happened_?"

"_Audrina, you must stay hidden_." He replied firmly. "_You mustn't be seen, terrible things…they are coming your way_."

"Papa…I am so tired, and so cold. Please, help me." She choked.

"I cannot, Audrina. I wish that I could protect you from these terrible people."

Audrey blinked back some tears, reaching out towards her many fathers. She didn't know if any of them were real.

He turned away for a moment.

"Papa…I know the truth. I saw it…I saw it in St. Aleksander's."

"Audrina, you don't even know half of it."

Audrey blacked out once more.


	105. Chapter 105

Sorry that this is a slow process for some reason, trying to tie up my loose ends. It's weird for me, finally being so close the end of this story. Double whammy today! Chapter 106 will be out following this one.

Anyway…thanks so much for the reviews, thewrittenword87, SiriPhoenix, HandsomeHolly, and CharlotteBlackwood!

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 105

_**I slept for three weeks.  
><strong>__**I slept through July.  
><strong>__**I slept through my best friend's funeral.  
><strong>__**As if her death hadn't already killed me.**_

"Daddy, when is mummy going to wake up?" Anastasia asked, looking at her father from across the kitchen table.

"Hopefully soon, darling." He replied, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Why is mummy sleeping for so long?' The little girl asked.

"She was cursed by an evil wizard." Sirius replied, it was fitting in a way. He was still incredibly furious with Albus Dumbledore.

Anastasia looked frightened.

"Daddy, I have an idea."

"What?" Sirius asked.

"I think you have to kiss her to wake her up. It's like that fairy tale."

**Oh, the amount of times I've tried that one. But of course, these were dark times. I had to humor her.**

"Oh! That's a wonderful idea, love. I'll go try that."

Anastasia followed her father down the hallway, into the master bedroom. Sirius stared at his wife; she hadn't changed position since he laid her there nearly a month ago. He shuddered for a moment, remembering what Remus had told him about tranquillizers.

"_They shut down every part of the body, it's as if your body weighs 2000 kilos."_

Sirius sat at her bedside, his daughter watching with wide eyes.

"Let's hope this works." He said, showing her crossed fingers. Anastasia copied.

Sirius planted a kiss on her lips, only to be hit in the face by a startled, gasping Audrey.

"_Ow_." He said.

Audrey looked panicked, but she calmed quickly when she realized it was just her husband and her daughter.

"Oh, love. I am so sorry…" She stroked his face, where a red mark was forming. "I…my muscles are a little over active now that the-"

"Curse." Sirius interrupted.

"The curse has worn off." Audrey finished, catching on. She sat up and groaned.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm a bit sore…" She replied, stretching out. Anastasia had crawled into the bed and lay next to her.

"Hi, sweetheart." Audrey cooed, stroking her hair.

"Anastasia, why don't you go finish your breakfast? I'll join you in a mo." Sirius suggested.

"Okay, daddy." The child replied, hopping off the bed and running from the room.

Sirius sat down next to his wife, the two sighed.

"How long has it been?" She asked, biting her lip.

"Three weeks, nearly four." He replied.

Audrey blinked back some tears.

"How was the funeral?" She whispered.

"Awful." Sirius shook his head. "It's something I will never erase from my memory."

**It was good that she had slept through the funeral, between her sadness and Remus' I would have died.**

_**Time seemed to fly so quickly while I was unconscious, but it flew even quicker during that August. I wrote to Hisoka within two days of being awake, I told her I needed to get out of the apartment.**_

_A.D,_

_I will be visiting a client in Halkirk later this week, come join me. We can play some duets._

_H.E_

_**It was an incredible relief, honestly. I needed to be away from Oxshott. At the time, Halkirk was my only chance…security was getting tighter and tighter.**_

"Audrey?" Sirius called.

"Yeah?" She asked, getting up from the bed and walking down the hall.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you…you were asleep while it happened."

_**I noticed that everything in our den and our kitchen was boxed up.**_

"Love…what?"

"The Order wants us to move." Sirius sighed.

"Wait, _the Order_ wants us to move, or _Albus_?" Audrey replied, crossing her arms. She was still furious with the old Headmaster, Sirius didn't blame her.

Sirius sighed again. "Albus."

"No." Audrey said shortly, turning on her heel.

"Audrey." Sirius said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to face him. She took her arm back with great force.

"_No_." She said again. "He has dictated my life…_our_ life for too long. Next it will be our daughter's! Don't you see why I hate living here? This country used to be so great to me, my family…"

"That's fantastic, bash us again." Sirius interrupted.

**At the time it was hard for me to grasp what she was saying. I was young and hot headed; I had thought she was just being ungrateful and spiteful. But as I've aged, and seen what goes on, her words ring in my mind all the time.**

"Sirius, you have NO idea." Audrey shook her head. "You came from a pureblood family, you're a male, and you're not considered a freak…"

"I may have come from a pureblood family, but I don't have those elitist ideals." He argued.

"It doesn't matter! You _have_ that privilege! People hear the name Black and they wouldn't **dare** give you a strange glance." She fought back.

He didn't respond.

"Marlene didn't have that privilege."

Audrey smacked him.

**I admit now, that it was a terrible low blow. At that time, I hadn't mastered the art of thinking before I spoke.**


	106. Chapter 106

**Whoohooo.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 106

"They want us to move, oneesan." Audrey whispered to Hisoka as they glided down a dirt path towards a large home.

"I know it will be safer for my daughter, but…I…I am just so tired of them controlling everything. They say I am important for this war and they won't even let me fight it."

"I know, Ayla." Hisoka replied, looking around. "But one must be careful, times are terrible…the things that I saw in Osaka."

"Far worse than England, I assume?" Audrey asked, looking at her mentor.

She nodded.

"But England is not so far away from such crimes."

A gust of wind blew through the hills, Audrey shivered.

Halkirk gave Audrey a strange feeling.

_**Late in the evening, after Hisoka and I had finished performing, I snuck out of Mr. Blaine's home and set off. I hadn't a clue where I was going, but I could have sworn that I heard the wind was calling my name.**_

After a few minutes of walking, the wind became more intense. She could hear her name in the gusts.

"_Audrey, Audrey, Audrey…"_

She set off into a run.

_**It had felt so good to run again, after being inside for a long, long time. My legs had taken well to it; despite my retirement from dance they were as strong as ever.**_

_**I am not quite sure how long I ran, it seemed to be ages and no time at all.**_

_**The darkness was consuming me, but there was a tiny light in the distance.**_

The wind seemed to be taking Audrey towards the light. She sped up; a small cottage was coming into sight. Outside, under the light, stood a small elderly woman with a black shawl and black head scarf.

Audrey skidded to a halt just a few feet away.

"It's alrigh' dear." Said the woman. "I saw ye' comin' from miles and miles away."

Audrey fastened her cloak.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Grizelda Reid, and I am a Seer of the Northern Alliance."

_**The Northern Alliance was a group similar to the Order of the Phoenix. It was lead by a half blood wizard named Alistair Donoghue. The group had the same ideals as the Order, but were **__**most likely**__** less controlling and manipulative. They were solely half-blood, muggle born wizards and all sorts of creatures. They were a larger alliance, but much more spread out.**_

"And you are Audrey Black." Grizelda said with a small smile. "Of the great Ivanoff-Dalio family, you come from so far away…Won't you come in and have some tea?"

Audrey obliged, after all, she couldn't be seen outdoors…even if it were in a deserted part of Scotland.

_**Having a mother and grandmother who possessed the sight, as well as personally being jaded, this did not surprise me. **_

_**After all, I had fame among the magical world for all sorts of reasons now.**_

_**I was a concert cellist, a combatant, a Russian spy, and a threat to humanity. Only two of those being truths, of course.**_

It was the typical home of a seer, everything was dim and foggy from incense.

"My mother had the gift as well." Audrey said, trying to strike conversation as the woman bustled around her home.

"Yes, I saw that. Banshees are extremely gifted when it comes to the sight. Your father didn't seem to believe in it much, what a shame…"

"Why do you say that?" Audrey asked.

"Your mother saw a lot coming, but he chose to ignore quite a bit…"

Audrey shivered.

"She saw them invading…" The woman stopped in her tracks. "Oh!" She cried. "Those poor families…all of those creatures…"

_**She saw the attacks on our colony…that felt like such a distant memory.**_

"You poor child." Grizelda said, sitting across from her and watching her intently. "You have seen and survived so much…and only twenty years on this earth."

_**With all that I have been through, I felt as though I were a century old.**_

"It is what it is." Audrey sighed, stirring her tea by flicking her finger.

"The Dark Lord, he has been out to ruin your life for years now…" Grizelda said. "I feel such a heavy sadness around you…he has caused you so much pain."

Audrey nodded, taking a sip from her cup.

"Has the Northern Alliance heard of the prophet Sybyll's prediction?"

"Aye." She replied. "She is not the only one who has seen that a boy will bring down the Dark Lord, but it is not only the child. It is you." Grizelda replied.

"Surely it is not." Audrey replied. "He only wants me for destruction, but I couldn't…"

"Exactly." Grizelda replied. "Your resistance will be as strong to the very end."

"The very end…?"

"Oh, it is getting late, dear." Grizelda said, looking at the time. "You should get back to your mentor."

_**I knew better than to question a seer…but what did she mean by the very end?**_

"Thank you for having me." Audrey gave a small bow.

"Of course, dearie." Grizelda replied, waving her hand. "Safe travels, and watch out for that man!"

Audrey's head snapped back.

"What man?"

Grizelda began to shake violently, her voice deepened.

"He is coming…" She said, with a deep, uncharacteristic voice.

"Grizelda?" Audrey approached the woman.

"HE IS COMING." She was shaking so badly that Audrey worried she was going to fall over.

"When?" Audrey asked the Seer.

"ALL HALLOWS EVE…he will destroy everything held dear. Only two will survive...secrets will be revealed before the final sleep."

Grizelda seemed to be calming down, tears filled her eyes.

"Oh, dear…it's horrible…so horrible…war…destruction…death, nothing but death…" She shook with sadness.

Audrey watched the woman, she was cautious.

"HE WILL FALL…" She said, her voice changing to the low, uncharacteristic voice.

"HE WILL FALL AFTER THE CONTROLLER OF THE EARTH LEAVES THIS LIFE AND WILL BE DEFEATED BY THE POWER OF A MOTHER'S LOVE. INNOCENCE WILL BE TAKEN, AND HIS FOLLOWERS SHALL RUN FREE."

_**I ran.**_

_**And I didn't look back.**_


	107. Chapter 107

**So I've been writing an epilogue for this story for the last few days. I'm pretty excited about it, though it's going to be pretty long. I'm wondering if I should place it at the end of this story or just make it a chapter in Deleted Scenes…Decisions.**

**Thanks for the reviews, CharlotteBlackwood, Nova5621, thewrittenword87, and handsomholly!**

**Please review! My story is coming to a close…**

Whoohooo.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 107

_**I returned to our lodging in Halkirk late in the evening, Hisoka did not question where I was. All she had said to me was…**_

"Ayla, you look as though you have seen a ghost."

Audrey returned to her room without a word.

_**The ghost of my future…which was coming to a close in two and a half months time.**_ _**I felt my chest tighten with anxiety. I wasn't ready…I had a prominent career and a family. It couldn't happen **__now__**. I was supposed to grow to a ripe old age, have grandchildren…**_

_**But I looked to the past…very few in my bloodline had lived so long. In the end, we're all hunted and killed the same way.**_

The room was tiny and dimly lit. There was a small wooden desk and a rickety chair across from her bed. Something silver shone on the center of the desk.

Audrey hopped off the bed and saw that it was a black and silver book that had caught her attention. She flipped through its pages, all blank.

_**As I flipped through the pages, I heard screams…my vision blurred. I could see fire; people were running in all sorts of directions…I felt myself running with them.**_

Later, I found myself in a large library…it was so familiar. The bookshelves were mahogany, the carpet was a brilliant Gryffindor red, and there were black arm chairs.

The scene changed, and I saw creatures of all kinds being slaughtered before my very eyes…it was horrifying. The scene then changed to an old, dusty home. Green wallpaper…green everything. There were voices, familiar voices all jumbled together…I saw the wall calendar…the date…how could it be?

Audrey tore a page from the back of the book and began writing.

_July 28__th__, 1995._

_Do not worry, you aren't late…_

_**The words seemed to come through me without falter. It was as if my seeing eye wrote for me. As I wrote, I tried to figure out where that library was…and then I saw her.**_

Audrey finished her letter quickly, finding an envelope in the desk drawer and left.

_**I set off through the countryside, over hills, through streams, until I saw the big white house. It had been about three years since I was last there, there were enchantments that surrounded it. But I could see it…I assumed that they only let Order members know where they were.**_

Audrey walked down a large hill towards the home, the lantern outside was still on. She wondered if any of them were awake.

She sighed as she knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" said a rough female voice.

"Audrey Fiona Dalio-Black." Audrey replied calmly.

"Prove it." The other woman replied.

"Ask me anything." Audrey shrugged, leaning against the door frame.

"Which of my children were born in the same year as your daughter?"

"Oliver." She said. You named him after your grandfather." Audrey added.

Clare Wood opened the door quickly, grabbing Audrey's arm and pulling her in. She quietly closed the door and locked it a few times.

"What are ye' doin' here?" Clare asked, concerned.

"I was in Halkirk, I had a vision about your library and figured I'd stop by." She replied quietly.

"_Halkirk_?" Clare asked. "That's quite a ways from here."

"It only took me 15 minutes to run…" Audrey shrugged.

"Ye' didn't apparate?"

"I can't. The Order is worried that I will be detected…" Audrey followed Clare down the hallway into the house's library. Clare flicked her wand and all of the curtains were closed.

" 'ow's the family?" Clare asked.

"Anastasia is fine, though she grows a little more defeated each day. I hate denying her the privilege or going outdoors…it's as if I am denying her childhood as a whole. Sirius…is….well, he's Sirius."

"Yer havin' issues, aren't ye?" Clare asked.

Audrey sighed, nodding her head.

"He just gets rip roaring drunk, we argue a lot…he's not handling the pressure at all-"

"Well, none of us are handling well." Clare added.

"True." Audrey said. "It's taken its toll on our family…there are very few days where we haven't fought."

"It's just the war, dear." Clare said, looking out through the open slit between.

"This war is going to tear us all apart." Audrey sighed.

"Mummy?" said a tiny voice.

The two women turned around, in the doorway was a tiny boy holding a teddy bear wearing a red Quidditch jersey holding a broomstick.

"Oliver!" Clare was surprised. "What are ye' doin' up so late?"

"I had a bad dream." The little boy rubbed his eyes.

Audrey smiled to herself.

Clare went over to her son, and crouched in front of him.

"Mummy, it was a man…he had snake eyes and grey skin."

"I'm sure it wasn't real, Oliver. C'mon, let's get you back to bed." Clare replied, picking up her son.

Oliver stared at Audrey with wide eyes.

_**Children's eyes see so many things; they can understand the entire world. They see and notice things that we do not.**_

Audrey didn't overstay her welcome, she made her way towards the front door to get her cloak. Clare came down the stairs.

"Are ye' sure ye' don't want to spend the night?" She asked.

"I would love to, but I really can't. I must travel while I can't be seen, and I need to get back to my daughter." Audrey replied, fastening her hood.

Clare opened the door for her, Audrey stopped and turned around.

"Clare?"

"Yes?"

Audrey pulled an envelope from her pocket.

"A day will come when my daughter steps foot in your home, you will bring her to your library because something has upset her. When that day arrives, give her this."

Before Clare could question it, Audrey dissapparated.


	108. Chapter 108

**Close to the end! AAHHH!**

**Thanks for the review, thewrittenword87 and the Guest! :)**

**Please review! PLEASE?**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 108

_**Within two days of returning to Oxshott, we moved to Godric's Hollow on Albus Dumbledore's orders. We were close to Lily and James but I was not thrilled. After all, what good was moving to a lovely residential area without being able to experience it? **_

_**My daughter, she was always disappointed in Godric's Hollow. We would see the children running through the streets, we could hear them play. She always asked me why she couldn't play with them…such a lonely child.**_

_**While I was away in Halkirk, Sirius received news that Sarah and Henri were killed in Paris during a massive street fight. I expected to be devastated but after the last five years of death I really couldn't feel anything. The loss of Marlene had done it for me; my eyes were far too dry from all the tears that had been shed.**_

_**The house in Godric's Hollow wasn't terrible, but all it reminded me of was death. That's what I felt as soon as I had stepped foot inside. I shiver as I think of it now.**_

_**After Sarah's death, my restrictions were tighter than ever before. I over heard Albus telling my husband to keep a closer eye on me, to not let me outdoors at all. I wasn't even allowed by the windows during the day. We had protective enchantments, but something in the tone of Albus' voice told me he wasn't entirely sure that they would work…**_

I am going to die in this house.

_**(What a surprise, to see that even the greatest wizard alive occasionally lost his confidence.)**_

_**I spent most of my days in Godric's Hollow caring for my daughter, teaching her cello, and alone in the spare room playing myself. It was all I could do, though it killed me every time my bow hit the strings. It was likely that I would never perform again.**_

_**In the middle of August, during an abnormally cold and cloudy afternoon, I heard a knock on my window.**_

Audrey put down her cello; she looked behind her to make sure the door was closed. Sirius would freak out if he saw her going near a window.

She delicately peeled back the corner of a curtain to see a tiny black owl staring at her. He shook his leg excitedly. Audrey slowly and quietly opened the window, letting the little bird in.

He flew around her head hooting excitedly.

"Shh." Audrey looked at the bird. "You must be quiet."

The bird stopped and landed on her shoulder.

"You're a smart one, aren't you?" She cooed, petting his head for a moment. She detached the envelope from his leg and he perched himself on her music stand.

_AD,_

_We need to talk._

_Soon._

_SS_

_**I hadn't heard from Severus Snape in three and a half years…it was a shock. Part of me was suspicious; though the letter was in Severus' handwriting I couldn't be too careful.**_

Audrey looked at the owl, which gave a quiet hoot and flew towards the window. She followed.

Outside, was a man in a black cloak. Audrey felt her stomach drop for a moment. He lowered his hood for a moment.

_**I must admit, I was slightly frightened that Severus had gotten through the enchantments. But I didn't put it past him; he was one of the smartest wizards in our graduating class.**_

Audrey looked around the area; there was no one else. Severus couldn't have been imperiused, she knew he was too strong for that.

Audrey just gave him a nod of acknowledgement and pointed to his letter. She quickly scribbled back a reply below it.

_Oban._

_Flannagan's Pub._

_Tomorrow, 11pm._

She attached the letter to the tiny owls leg and let him fly out to his owner. Severus read the letter and dissapparated.

"Audrey?"

She jumped, startled.

"Yes, love?" She called.

"Did you hear anything strange before? I thought I just heard someone apparate…"

Audrey poked her head out the door, seeing Sirius down the hallway.

"No, darling. I didn't hear a thing. I was writing some music."

"Oh…okay." Sirius said, he seemed a little suspicious but dismissed it quickly.

_**I had to wait until I was sure that Sirius was asleep. Fortunately, I wasn't too late…**_

Audrey crept through the side streets of Oban, and went around the back alley to get to Flannagan's.

Severus waited in the shadows.

They walked towards each other, Severus had his wand raised, Audrey was poised.

"What's one thing that's changed about my appearance over the years?" Audrey asked quietly.

"Your eyes were brown, now they're green." Severus answered without falter.

"How do I know it's really you?" Severus asked.

"Audrey let her eyes flash a few colors and then quickly covered them with her hood.

"It's nice to see you showed up." He said.

Audrey nodded as they went inside.

She looked around the abandoned pub; though this was far from home she just was so uneasy. After hearing that her former best friend had made his way over to the dark side, she didn't know what to believe anymore.

Audrey nodded but did not remove her hood.

Severus held open the door to a side room. "Shall we?"

She nodded once more, and glided into the room. Severus followed her inside; he cast a silencing charm so they weren't heard.

The two removed their hoods and hugged.

Audrey touched his shoulder, and saw the world that Severus lived in.

"Sev…so much danger and fright surrounds you…you should stay away from Rudolphus, he cannot be trusted." Audrey blinked back some tears.

"How do you know that?" Severus was very surprised.

"My visions have been getting more prominent since my daughter was born...I have seen so much Severus…and so little makes sense. I've seen you quite a few times."

"Audrey, there is a secret I bear…but I cannot tell you."

_**He was a double agent, he was on our side…but I knew **__why__** he didn't want to vocalize it.**_

"That is why so much danger surrounds you." Audrey realized. "Severus, that is wonderful and yet so terrible."

"There was a prophecy…concerning a child…He is targeting Lily and her family…"

"I know, Severus." Audrey replied. "I was informed…Albus has taken all possible measures to hide them."

"And…what about you?"

"What do you mean?"

Severus placed his hands on her shoulders. "Has he hidden you?"

"Of course, he has hidden us… I don't like it though…it's like living in Azkaban."

"Audrey, trust me. It is for your own good. I have _seen_ what they want to do; I have heard what they said…He wants you **and** your daughter. He's adamant, and he grows more frustrated by the day."

_**I felt my stomach drop when he said that.**_

"You must stay indoors, Audrey."

"Severus…I…"

"Promise me!" He hissed, shaking her. "Promise me you will not be seen! _**PROMISE ME**_."

"I promise!" Audrey raised her voice. "I promise…"

"Good." Severus said. "I can't stay for long, and neither can you, it's not safe."

"I know, Severus. We should be on our way…"

"You should go first." He said. "I need to stay behind for a little longer, so it doesn't look like anything."

Audrey nodded; she gave him a long hug, and then made her way for the door.

"Severus." Audrey's voice broke as she turned back to him.

He looked up at her.

"I need to ask you something."

"_Anything_."

"There will come a day, not too long from now, when Albus Dumbledore will ask you to take on a big responsibility that involves me…when that day comes, promise me that you will say yes."

"Audrey, what-" Severus stammered.

"Please, Sev. Promise me you'll do it."

He took off his hood, and looked her straight in the eye.

"On my life, I promise."

Audrey blinked back some tears and dissapparated.


	109. Chapter 109

**Close to the end! AAHHH! I'm going to try to finish this story tomorrow. **

**Please review! PLEASE?**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 109

_**When I returned home that evening, everything was silent. Sirius and Anastasia were both asleep. I thought I was in the clear until the next morning…**_

Audrey woke after Sirius, she made her way downstairs. He sat at the table, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the Daily Prophet.

"Sirius, why do you still read that god awful paper?" Audrey stretched, sitting at the table across from him.

"Well, there is always some truth within the lines." He replied with an unpleasant tone.

"I suppose." Audrey replied, sipping a cup of tea.

"So." Sirius said, putting down the paper. "Where were you last night?"

"I went out for a stroll." Audrey replied, figuring that she wouldn't completely lie to him.

"A stroll that requires you to dissapparate?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"I like Scotland, what can I say?" Audrey shrugged.

"Audrey, do you even **care** anymore?" Sirius sighed, shaking his head. He vaguely reminded her of Remus.

_**It was a terrible thing that I could not tell Sirius of my fate. With my time closing, I had every right to be wreckless.**_

"What do you mean?" Audrey slipped into Ayla.

"Don't do that to me." Sirius gave her a glare.

"Do what?" Audrey cocked her head.

"Don't slip into character, Audrey. It's not sexy or cute when there's a war going on and a price tag on our heads." Sirius replied bluntly. "Where were you last night?"

"I just told you." Audrey replied, in her normal manner. "I was in Scotland, taking a stroll."

"Taking a stroll with Severus Snape?" Sirius stared her down.

"I haven't spoken to Severus in three and a half years, wherever would you get that idea?"

"Oh, I don't know…when he suspiciously apparated into our back yard? Perhaps you had seen him? I mean, the studio faces the yard." Sirius said with a sarcastically casual tone.

Audrey paled.

_**I don't know what compelled me to lie further, but there was this overwhelming feeling that I had to protect Severus. It was the fear that Sirius would go running to other members of the Order. **_

_**If that happened, Severus would be dead.**_

_**I **__had__** to protect him; he was essential to my post-mortem plans.**_

Audrey didn't even open her mouth, but her silence must have gotten to him.

"Don't you dare fucking lie to me, Audrey." Sirius growled. "I know you went and saw him."

Audrey remained calm; after all, their daughter was upstairs sleeping…

"Alright, alright. So I went and saw an old friend, what's the problem with that?" She replied.

"The problem?" Sirius asked, fuming. "The problem is that you severely lack judgment! YOU ARE SO WRECKLESS YOU COULD HAVE EXPOSED US ALL!"

"Severus wouldn't have contacted me if that were the case-"

Sirius snorted.

"Had he been ready to hand me over, he would have brought He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named with him!"

"What did he say to you?" Sirius leaned over the table, his teeth bared. (Audrey would have laughed if the situation weren't so serious, he looked like his animaigus…)

"WHAT DID HE SAY?" Sirius slammed his mug so hard on the table it shattered and cut his hand.

"HE JUST WARNED ME TO STAY INDOORS, NOT TO BE SEEN. RELAX SIRIUS." Audrey rushed to the cabinet to grab a towel.

She was about to wrap his hand when he shoved her away.

"HOW CAN I RELAX WHEN MY WIFE JUST MET WITH A DEATH EATER WHO'S BEEN OUT FOR MY HEAD SINCE OUR SCHOOL DAYS?"

"OH!" Audrey threw her hands up. "DON'T YOU DARE…DON'T YOU DARE BRING HOGWARTS INTO THIS. IT WAS YOU AND JAMES WHO STARTED THE FUED BETWEEN YOU THREE IN THE FIRST PLACE."

"RIGHTFULLY SO!" Sirius replied. "HE WAS DESTINED TO BECOME A SLIMEBALL, AUDREY. YOU JUST COULDN'T SEE THAT BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN SHELTERED YOUR ENTIRE LIFE."

"I WAS _**SHELTERED**_ BECAUSE I WAS BEING _**HUNTED**_, SIRIUS. THERE'S A DIFFERENCE. I _KNOW_ WHAT THE REAL WORLD IS LIKE, SIRIUS. I KNOW WHAT WAR IS LIKE, I WAS BORN INTO WAR."

"AND WHAT DID YOU DO TONIGHT, _GENERAL_?" Sirius shot back sarcastically. "GO HAVE A BEER WITH YOUR HUNTER?"

"I HAD TO ASK OF HIM A FAVOR. SOMETHING TOO IMPORTANT THAT **YOU** COULDN'T HANDLE."

"You…asked him…of a favor?" Sirius was shocked. "HE'S BEEN OUT FOR YOUR HEAD SINCE HE LET THEM MARK HIM. WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU ASK HIM A FAVOR?"

"Because you won't be able to do it." Audrey said quietly, turning on her heel and going into the spare room. She slammed the door.

_**It was clear to both of us that our marriage was failing. Surely we could see why, we both lied to each other. Sirius was rather hypocritical, for he would call me out on my lies, but when I tried to bring out his…it was catastrophic.**_

_**I knew that when he went out on missions for the Order, he was doing other things. He wasn't unfaithful…of the many things that were wrong at the time with our marriage; we were still very much tied to each other.**_

_**What Sirius didn't realize was that I knew, deep down, that he would not be with our daughter in the future. Sirius was barely in my visions, and that frightened me greatly. I did not fear his end, for I would be one with death long before him. My biggest fear was for our daughter, she would be all alone and so very cold…**_

Severus Snape was a man I had trusted since the very first train ride to school. I had no doubts in my mind about him, even when he joined Voldemort, all along; I knew where his heart was.

_**And that was precisely why I wanted him to raise Anastasia when Sirius and I were gone.**_


	110. Chapter 110

Hello, readers! Firstly, WOAH THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS, thewrittenword87, Nova5621, CharlotteBlackwood & HandsomHolly (I really want to reply to your questions but I can't PM you seeing as you don't have your password. D: )! :D

Secondly, I'm going to address a question that won't spoil the story for those who haven't read the first one.

**Will I be writing after this story:** I'm not quite sure at the moment. I have a busy school year ahead of me, which means the only times that I will be able to write are my winter break (December) and summer break (May 2014.) I have a bunch of one shots for Deleted Scenes already written out, so I'll be publishing those and such in the mean time.

I may or may not write a completely different story unrelated to my previous works. I think I'd need to go through and re-read the series again to find some inspiration.

What I **will** be doing, along with Deleted Scenes, is going through **The Dark Lord's Last Hope** and editing **A LOT** of the chapters. For those of you who have known me from the beginning and stuck around, you know there were a lot of mistakes between my own writing skills and the FF editor cutting things off at odd times. I really need to polish up that story; I may even do some of it today after I finish this one. (But I also have to pack a lot for school…hmmm…)

***WARNING! INTENSE CHAPTER!***

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 110

_**By September I was going mad, I could no longer stand behind caged. I loved spending time with my daughter, and playing cello together, but my arguments with Sirius had left me exhausted. It seemed that something was wrong every day. His drinking had increased…I believed that it wasn't entirely stress related. It was the loneliness; neither of us had seen James, Lily, or Remus in so long. It was only two months, but it felt like an eternity. I must admit, that I do blame myself as well for his issues…I put far too much stress on him. Humans, they are such fragile creatures.**_

_**I decided that I would be a little reckless again, I wanted to perform…I deserved to perform after the 8 hour days I had been practicing for the last six months. It took me a few days to figure out where I could perform, and then it hit me one day when I was looking out the window. The trees were dancing in the wind, it reminded me of Chantal and Teagan.**_

_"Are you going into Hogsmeade today?" Chantal asked, shaking Audrey awake._

_"Good morning to you too, sunshine." Audrey mumbled, she shouldn't have been surprised. Chantal was always one to shake someone awake._

_"Well?" Chantal asked._

_"Yeah, the whole gang is going in." Audrey replied, and by the whole gang, she meant everyone else in their dorm._

_"Good, I want to go to the Hogshead." Chantal said._

_"What?" Audrey asked, sitting up._

_"You heard me."_

_"Yes, I did hear you. Chantal, are you taking a Stupid Draught?" Audrey asked, serious._

_"No, I am not taking a __Stupid Draught__." Chantal did jazz hands to emphasize the last two words. "Very clever with that, but anyway, the Hogshead has tons of our kind there, Audrey. We're not going to be killed or anything. And they have an open mic!"_

_"So does the Three Broomsticks." Audrey replied._

_"Audrey, you move rocks, you can cause an 8.0 on the Richter scale. I can shoot fire from my hands and turn into a vicious bird! We'll be fine." Chantal said casually._

_**The problem with going to the Hogs Head would be its audience. Though it is mainly a bar for creatures, there could be others lurking in the shadows. If I was going to be this careless, I needed to at least disguise myself.**_

Audrey went through her never-ending trunk; she found dresses, robes, make up, and other things she had completely forgotten about.

_**For my first performance, I had given myself pale blonde hair, a smaller nose, blue eyes. For my second performance, I was a red head with small lips black eyes, and a scar across my cheek. I continued that ruse for a few weeks, but it grew as tired as my marriage to Sirius was…**_

_**We fought so much that fall; we always slept in different rooms. We didn't speak in the mornings. I made myself scarce when he came home from shifts.**_

_**That very last night in October was the worst that it's ever been…**_

Audrey came downstairs to get Anastasia a glass of water before putting her to bed. Sirius sat at the table, staring at the wood.

_**He looked so pale, as if he had swallowed the most terrible secret.**_

"Ar-are you alright?" It was hard for Audrey to speak; she hadn't spoken to him in days.

Sirius shook his head.

"D'you want to talk about it?" Audrey asked, coming closer.

He shook his head again.

"Sirius, you look as though you have seen a ghost." Audrey was concerned.

"I'm fine." He said in a dead voice.

Audrey left the topic alone, and poured a cup of water. After a few moments of silence, Sirius spoke.

"Why do you care?"

"What?" Audrey was startled by that question.

"You heard me." Sirius said.

Audrey turned to face him.

"I think you sometimes forget that I took a vow with you. Even though things are bad right now, _I will love you and honor you all the days of my life. _Ring any bells?"

"It's funny, Audrey. You've conveniently forgotten the _to be true to you in good times and bad_ part." Sirius sneered.

"I am not the only one in this room who has _lied_, Sirius." Audrey gave him a steady look.

"But you've certainly done it more than I have." He retorted. "That's the thing about you, you've lied and lied and lied…which, I understand, with me being so drunk and unpredictable I don't deserve the truth in some aspects. But none the less, you have went against our vows."

"For our family's _safety_." Audrey replied through gritted teeth.

"Y'know what also was beneficial for our family's safety? You sneaking out when you're not supposed to be out! Going to Russia on Christmas day, going to see that greasy prick a few weeks ago, oh and going out every fucking Wednesday night for no apparent reason."

"I haven't been seen." Audrey said through gritted teeth. "Russia and Severus were equally important."

"If Russia and Severus were equally important than it was just a bunch of people from your past telling you what I've been telling you all along." Sirius threw his hands up in annoyance.

"Russia was important because I needed to know something about my family, something that I've missed. It has changed so many things…" Audrey hissed. "Severus was important because I needed to say good bye."

"You said good-bye to that greasy prick at graduation." Sirius snarled. "Russia? Your family secret? I doubt you found it, you probably just wanted to go back and snog Gregorovitch."

"I DID NOT." Audrey protested, she was getting frustrated. Sirius was always accusatory when he was drunk, but tonight he was sober and it hurt so much more.

"Then why do you deny it so _fiercely_?" He replied, crossing his arms.

"Sirius Orion Black, I would _never_ cheat on you." Audrey slammed her hand on the table. "If I had wanted Karl Gregorovitch, I-"

"Would have gone back to Russia one or more times to visit him?" Sirius interrupted.

"I would have married him instead of _you_." Audrey finished. "Sirius, the secrets I bear, I cannot speak of."

Before Audrey could say another word, the glass mug that Sirius had in his hand hit her hard in the face. There was a gash on her cheek that quickly began to bleed.

Audrey couldn't take it any longer; she _wouldn't _take it any longer.

She punched him in the mouth, and then he lunged for her. They slammed into the counter hard, she shoved him off with great force.

_**War…it does such terrible things to love.**_

They sat in opposite ends of the kitchen. Sirius sat in the rubble of what their kitchen table was, Audrey sat in the hole that was now in the counter.

"I have been trying to protect you." Audrey said quietly, the tears that were rolling down her cheeks mixed with the blood from her wound.

"Lying to protect?" Sirius sneered. "Hardly a good reason when I'm all you've got."

"I stand with my decision, Sirius. It's for your own good." Audrey replied back.

Sirius' eyes wandered to the staircase, their daughter was watching them. Judging by her face, she had been there the whole time.

His gaze returned to his wife.

"No." He shook his head. "I can't do this anymore."

He stood up and made his way for the door.

Audrey shot up.

"You don't mean it..." She bit her lip, more tears beginning to fall.

"I'm going." Sirius said sternly, striding to the door and slamming it shut.

_**I felt the ground shake beneath my feet, for the first time in years. I was stunned when I realized that I was the cause.**_

Audrey sank to the floor and sobbed.


	111. Chapter 111

**Long-ish chapter! We're close.**

**Thanks for the reviews, Nova5621, thewrittenword87, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, and CharlotteBlackwood (Sorry for almost making you cry!)**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 111

Sirius found it very difficult to leave. He stood in the backyard, looking at the house for a while. Could he really do this? No, he had to; he had to make sure Peter didn't screw up.

He then noticed a window on the second floor was open.

There was a small breeze that hit his back; some tiny pebbles came with it.

He turned.

"Darling, what are you doing out here?"

Anastasia stood far in the distance, looking very frightened. Sirius approached her carefully; he crouched down to her height.

She didn't say anything.

"You saw all of that, didn't you?" He asked.

She nodded.

"I'm very sorry you had to see us like that."

"Daddy, do you still love mummy?" She whispered.

"Of course I do, sweetheart." Sirius said without falter. It was true; he had no doubt in his mind that he loved Audrey after everything they had been through.

"Then why did you hit her?" She asked, tearing up.

"Because I am an awful, _awful_, terrible excuse for a man." Sirius replied. "But I love you and your mother more than anything, and that's why I'm leaving."

"But if you love us you can't leave." Her lip quivered the same way that her mother's did.

"Sometimes, we have to leave our loved ones to protect them." Sirius replied. "It won't be for long, honey. I promise."

He pulled her into a hug.

"When this is all over, we'll be a proper family again, you'll see."

It was hard seeing her cry, and feeling Audrey's tremors running through the ground.

"Go back up to your room, love." Sirius said, stroking her hair.

Anastasia stepped on a tiny rock and flew back to her window; once she crawled back inside she looked out at him.

Sirius flicked his wand and the shed opened, his motorbike rolled out. He mounted the bike, put on his helmet, and looked up at the window.

He blew her a kiss and took to the sky.

_One week later, the Hogs Head._

Audrey had given up; she couldn't feel anything but emptiness after he left.

_**Without Sirius, the world seemed to stand still. I had less than a handful of days left and I couldn't say good-bye.**_

_**The very last night I went to the Hogshead, I did not disguise myself. Everyone stared, they knew who I was. They had seen the newspapers. But no one moved, no one got up to turn me in. Those were my people, or, it'd be more fitting to say, those were my creatures. They understood.**_

Audrey walked up to the piano, receiving calls from several of the men and half men (half creature) who sat at the bar, and around the bar..

She situated herself on the piano bench and took a moment to stretch. Looking at her up close, Audrey's once voluminous, thick, straight hair now seemed limp and lifeless. Her face had lost its lively glow; her cheek bones seemed to be protruding more than they once had. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy, how long was it since she last cried? Not long…Her irises had faint traces of green still left, her make up was already running.

And then she began to play.

_"__I can't believe what you said to me, last night when we were alone…you threw your hands up. Baby you gave up, you gave up."_

Her voice became slightly menacing…"I can't believe how you looked at me with your James Dean glossy eyes. In your tight jeans with your long hair and your cigarette stained lies!"

Her voice, turned softer, sympathetic, with a tragic hint behind it.

_"Could we fix you if you broke? And is your punch line just a joke? I'll never talk again, oh boy you've left me speechless. You've left me speechless, so speechless, and I'll never love again. Oh boy you've left me speechless, so speechless."_

She held the last note…

"_I can't believe how you slurred at me with your half wired broken jaw. You popped my heart seams on my bubble dreams, bubble dreams."_

She lamented _"I can't believe how you looked at me with your Johnnie Walker eyes…"_

Her voice turned vicious, her words stained with grief.

"_He's gonna get you and after he's through here's gonna be no love left to rye'"_

_**My eyes scanned the room as I played, I saw him. He didn't notice me staring, but I knew he was there. I wanted him to see.**_

"_And I know that it's complicated, but I'm a loser in love so baby, raise a glass to mend all the broken hearts of all my wrecked up friends!" _She placed emphasis on 'all my wrecked up friends' by crescendoing, a mourning cry, and literally raising her glass of gin and downing some of it.

The regulars jeered and raised their glasses.

_"I'll never talk again, oh boy you've left me speechless. You've left me speechless, so speechless. And I'll never love again, oh friend you've left me speechless, you've left me speechless, so speechless…How? How? How?"_

A chord breakdown.

"_And after all the drinks and bars that we've been to, would you give it all up? Could I give it all up for you? And after all the boys and girls that we've been through, would you give it all up? Could you give it all up? If I promise, boy, to you…"_

She became calmer.

"_That I'll never talk again, and I'll never love again. I'll never write a song, won't even sing along. I'll never love again."_

The last four words coming out in a cry.

_"So speechless, you left me speechless, so boy, why you so speechless, so speechless?"_

Her voice was bitter…

"_Will you __**ever**__ talk again? Oh boy, why you so speechless? You've left me speechless."_

Audrey's gaze returned to Voldemort, he caught her eye this time.  
><em><br>"Some men may follow me but you choose "death and company" why you so speechless? oh, oh."_

There was a standing ovation from most of the bar, but Audrey did not feel satisfaction. After all, it wasn't the same as playing in a concert hall.

She saw him across the room, he was sitting and clapping. His eyes were concealed but she knew he stared at her.

Audrey left the Hogshead quickly and dissapparated. She only had a day…

When she arrived home, she began to flick her fingers and wave her hands. The furniture began to move and break.

_**I had two days to make a mess of the house…it was a last resort. I thought that if I showed signs of a struggle, perhaps I could trick Voldemort. I had nowhere to hide Anastasia, so this was my only option.**_

"Mummy, what are you doing?" Anastasia asked, tugging on Audrey's pant leg.

"Just re-arranging the furniture, darling."

"Mummy, that chair is upside down."

"I know, sweet heart. Let's get you to bed." Audrey said, picking up her daughter.

Audrey tucked Anastasia into bed.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

_**For the last month, she had been having these terrible nightmares. Sirius and I always alternated who would stay with her. On the nights we were okay with each other, we would both stay.**_

"Always." Audrey said, stroking her hair. She didn't have the heart to tell her, it was too soon. They still had a day.

_**I spent my last day with my daughter; I took her outside to play. We read books, we played music, and we played games. I wanted her to feel as normal as possible, though deep down, I knew she felt something was wrong.**_

_**I had secretly wished that Sirius would come running back through the door. If I was going to die, I wanted his company. I didn't want our daughter to see…she was far too young.**_

The hours passed quickly, and no matter what I was doing, I kept my eye on the door.

_**He wasn't coming back. He was no longer in my seeing eye…**_

Audrey began to shatter glasses in the kitchen, she broke the cabinets, and she put dragon's blood on the piano keys. She made bloody handprints on the walls. She wanted to make their home look like the shrieking shack.

And that's what she did. 

* * *

><p>"Speechless" credit to Lady GagaInterscope Records.


	112. Chapter 112

**A little later than expected, I had to run some errands and do some packing…**

**A brief epilogue will follow this; I'm hoping it will clarify some things for those who have read this story first. (I know I said I wrote a LOOONG epilogue, but I decided to divide it up. The other parts will be out in Deleted Scenes) **

**I may start publishing Deleted Scenes this week (School starts for me in 10 days, a little late for a University but I should have a small amount of time.)**

**Many, many thanks for the reviews, CharlotteBlackwood, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, and Nova5621!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!**

CHAPTER 112

As the sun was setting, Audrey found her daughter in her bedroom.

"Anastasia." Audrey called.

"Yes, mummy?"

Audrey decided to switch to her native tongue. "_I need to speak with you._"

"_Da_."

"_Anastasia, tonight something will happen. I need you to follow my instructions very carefully_."

"_Okay, mama_."

"_A man will come here, tonight. He is very dangerous. You are going to hide in your closet, behind the blankets. You are not to make a sound or come out of the closet until that man leaves. Do you understand?"_

"But mama, what if he hurts you?"

Audrey sighed.

"_If he hurts me, you mustn't fret, my child."_

After doing another sweep of the house, and preparing everything, Audrey looked at the clock.

_**7:59. I knew at exactly 8:05 he would bust down the door.**_

Audrey sprinted back up the stairs, and into her daughter's room.

"Asia, you must go hide." Audrey said, blinking back her tears. "Remember what mummy said earlier, be brave."

Audrey helped her daughter into the closet, Anastasia was silently crying.

"_Shh, it's okay, my printessa. I won't let him hurt you. Just remember you're mummy and daddy love you very much. We will always protect you, Anastasia_."

_**That was the hardest thing I would ever do. But I had to compose myself, he was coming and I needed to be ready.**_

_SLAM._

Audrey shivered.

She could hear him walking around downstairs; he was flipping over things, searching for them.

Voldemort exhaled and began towards the stairs, giving a low cold laugh.

"Come out and play, Audrey."

_**It was at the top of the stairs that I saw his eyes.**_

Voldemort stopped at the top of the stairs, Audrey was shocked that he lowered his wand. She let her eyes glow red in the darkness.

"I see you've been waiting for me, my dear." He said in his cold voice.

Audrey hissed and took the opportunity to start the fight. The Dark Lord retaliated in a quickly, a large blue mass sent at the creature.

She fell through the doorway, into a Anastasia's room. Voldemort glided down the hallway, laughing, and entered.

"You are so foolish." He hissed, waving his hand and the room was illuminated.

Audrey got to her feet, her eyes not changing. "Not as foolish as you." She snarled. "Those who are hungry for power only fall in the end."

She twisted her hands in delicate fashion, and objects around the room began to fly at him. He didn't block in time and was cut in a few places, letting out an enraged snarl. His faced twisted into an angry expression; he pointed his wand at her.

"Where is the _girl_?" His wand pressed right over her heart.

"You'll never find her." sneered Audrey. "I'll die and you still will not find her."

"You're wasting my valuable time. When we could be doing other things, like taking over the world and making dark creatures of a higher status." Voldemort said, suggestively. Trying to sway the woman, it would be a terrible waste to kill something so beautiful and deadly.

"_Your _time, has _no _value to me." hissed Audrey, getting in his face.

"You lie. You wouldn't even help beings like me. Just use them for your own benefit and discard them when you've used up all you can."

"I do not lie!" He replied, becoming more and more impatient. The woman was going with him whether she wanted to or not, so was the child. Audrey said nothing and glared.

"Get the girl. We're leaving." He hissed dangerously.

"You seem to believe that my daughter is in this house. I've sent her far away, and you'll never find her." She said calmly, a look of triumph falling over her features.

Though the viewing party knew this was a lie, as history would later reveal, Anastasia was hiding in the closet in that very room. Lord Voldemort had been outwitted.

"Then you will _show _me." He snarled, stabbing his wand over her heart again.

Audrey wore a venomous smile and laughed.

"SILENCE!" He was becoming annoyed. How dare she mock him! He was the greatest wizard alive. His wand hand was twitching; he wanted to do it _so_ badly. But he couldn't, this was what he needed. This would ensure his rise to power.

"Go on." Audrey whispered. "Do it."

"You think you're going to get away that easily?" He said, his voice shaking with anger. "Do you think I am _that _foolish?"

"Only those who seek too much power are _fools_." She said in a sarcastically sweet tone.

Voldemort let out an enraged yell and flicked his wand. An eerily familiar jet of green light flew at Audrey, she smirked, and then it hit her.

_**As I fell, I saw everything…**_

The torn parchment.

_"During the year 1260, the entire clan was destroyed by a fire so terrible cast by a dark wizard. Save for two males…both from the east, but of different tongues. They were separated by the destruction, and fell out of contact. As you have guessed, one of these men was our ancestor. A very distant grandfather, as for the other man…I've spent years searching, as well as your grandfather. We have yet to find his descendant, or descendants…there is only the possibility that they may be in China, the surname is Lei. There was a vision, that was seen by our ancestor who survived the fire. He saw that dark times would be coming in the future, dark times that involved our kind. He saw the slaughter of our family, though it has been unclear of which generation. One must never be too careful… He saw a wizard seeking to tame one of us, the last one of our bloodline. A girl with full powers, who's parents died to protect her. They-"_

_**"Come on, Audrey!" Marlene called, grabbing my arm.**_

_**She danced with Sarah in the studio, they were inviting me to join them. Teagan was there, and so was Darcy. They all looked so free…**_

_**My old home, the cabin, flashed before my eyes. Everything was intact. Memories began to overcome me…My parents, smiling and laughing. Times that were long gone, long before I knew of Vladimir, the Dark Lord, and of danger…**_

_**Then, I was on the train to St. Petersburg, Yuri greeted me and welcomed me home. I saw the square where Sven, Karl, and I sat. The Palace…in all it's glory. My cousins…Jacques, Hans and Petro playing Quidditch in the gardens. Uncle Ivan was sitting with my grandmother, and my aunts. They all smiled.**_

_**My grandfather, he smiled and winked at me, which sent a chill up my spine.**_

_**I saw the festivals in the city, I danced with Karl. My vision then returned to England, to Hogwarts. All of the years flashed before my eyes, from the first time I met my friends, to the Yule Ball, to the first time I kissed Sirius.**_

_**The other half of the parchment…forever lost…became so clear in front of my eyes…**_

"_They will not die together, but 14 years apart. The girl will never live with her parents together after her third year, they will forever be seperated by life and death until they meet through the stone archway. She knows terrible pain, and is very dangerous. The wizard who seeks her capture knows of her pain and will try to destroy the world with it. She is the only one that has the power to protect all creatures when the time comes, and aid the chosen one in the darkest hour."_

_**Then I saw myself, the woman with curly hair that I knew was not mine… The realization dawned on me, in the most terrible and beautiful way. She wasn't me. She was **__never__** me…it was her!**_

_**I watched her grow in mere seconds, from a child to a beautiful young woman. I watched her laugh, and I watched her tears. I watched her grow strong, and I also watched her wither away and become weak. I watched her perform in a crowded concert hall, and I watched her turn into a ferocious warrior.**_

_**She was wearing a white dress, smiling, and laughing…the mysterious boy was with her. He spun her around, and threw her over his shoulder. Oh! She was so happy!**_

Tears escaped Audrey's eyes as she fell, but she knew something that no one else alive knew…a smirk came across her face.

_Thud._

_**Darkness.**_


	113. Epilogue

**I forgot to add handsomholly in the thanks from last chapter! :o Thank you for the review! The questions you had involving Sirius, Lily, and James will all be mentioned in Deleted Scenes!**

**Heck, I may even put up some of Deleted Scenes tonight, I don't know…**

**Well, here we are, kids.**

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!

**EPILOGUE**

_12 years later…_

Just a few minutes…that's all I had.

But it was just enough.

It was my first time in the castle in years…it hadn't changed a bit. I still felt at home, though the waves of nostalgia that hit me also brought me waves of grief.

No one seemed to care or notice as I trotted down the hallway, for all I knew, dogs might have been allowed in the castle. After all, everything changes with time. Now it was just a matter of getting to my destination, from what I remember, the passwords changed every year. Supposedly, they had never repeated…_ever_.

But then I saw her…perfect timing! I followed her all the way to the common room, she said "Spanghew."

_Yes_.

I scanned the common room, not a soul in sight. I waited for her to go up the stairs to her level. She had to only be a first or second year, she was so small…

After I was sure she was gone, I set off in a run, all the way up to the 7th floor.

To my surprise, the staircase hadn't turned into a slide. Perhaps it was because I was a dog. Why hadn't Ithought of that while I was in school?

It didn't take me long to find her bed. Her initials gave me a chill; they had her take her mother's maiden name. I would have done it too…our name never had had warm connotations.

_Especially_ now.

I transformed, I still had plenty of time. I opened her trunk with care, it felt so wrong. Perhaps in some parallel universe, I would have done the same. She would yell at me, being a typical teenager. She'd be secretive, have a boyfriend that she wouldn't want to tell her mother and I about.

But that didn't happen.

It would _never_ happen.

It was too late for us, all of us.

Peter ruined my life and he took everything from me. He gave it all away…everyone…everything.

The only survivors were the kids, and possibly Remus…If Remus were alive, he wouldn't trust me anyway. I wouldn't blame him for it either. We had a terrible falling out a week before that Halloween…

My daughter had bewitched her trunk to have endless space, after throwing an incredible amount of clothing out of the trunk; I found what I had wanted.

It was mine, actually.

Anastasia wouldn't have remembered that though. It was a small red photo album that I had made many, many years ago. They were mostly photos of Audrey and Anastasia…they were my favorites. Sometimes I would bring them to work with me, or to my Order missions. It was a reminder of what I needed to keep safe.

But I had failed.

Another book caught my eye; it bore a black cover with silver vines. The spine was thick, and slightly worn. It was very familiar…I had seen it in Oxshott, and later in Godric's Hollow. But I never paid it any mind, I was certain it was Audrey's. It appeared to be untouched, unopened. But there were grooves on the sides of the pages…it had been written in.

I pocketed that, the album, some quills, parchment, and a knife that was left on a night stand. I transformed and sprinted out of the castle, undetected. A few things had to be addressed, a murdering traitor, a lost broomstick, and a lost family.

As I arrived in my hiding spot, a cave in the forest, something was burning in my chest.

Curiosity.

I took the black book out of my robes and opened it. It was her handwriting, I knew it so well…how many love letters had we written to each other over the years?

_**I have worn a mask my entire life, hiding from the world my origins and what I am capable of…**_

_**Who I truly am…is unknown by many and now I feel that I must come clean and show everything before it is too late…**_

She wrote an auto-biography…

* * *

><p>Hello!<p>

First, I'd like to say THANK YOU, to everyone that's put up with my silly writings over the last four years that I've been a part of this website. It means a lot, and to have a select number of loyal readers has made this incredibly enjoyable. For those of you who have stuck around from the very beginning, thank you! And for those who have come in along the way, thank you!

My next project, as I've mentioned several times in other chapters, will be a series of one shots pertaining to certain characters and events from my two stories. If you have any questions or things you want me to address in this project, please leave a review or message me! :)

I know that both of my stories have underlying themes of depression, and I want ALL of you to know, that should you ever need someone to talk to, or to vent to, I am here for you. Please drop me a message if you need to talk to someone.

For those of you starting school in the next few weeks, best of luck with your semesters!

Again... 

THANK YOU!


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